Yootha Joyce
Updated: 12/10/2025, 11:01:46 AM Wikipedia source
Yootha Joyce Needham (20 August 1927 – 24 August 1980), known as Yootha Joyce, was an English actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom Man About the House (1973–1976) and its spin-off George and Mildred (1976–1979).
Infobox
Born
Yootha Joyce Needham(1927-08-20)20 August 1927Wandsworth, London, England
Died
24 August 1980(1980-08-24) (aged 53)Marylebone, London, England
Alma mater
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation
Actress
Years active
1944-1980
Spouse
mw- Glynn Edwards (m. 1956; div. 1969)
Tables
· Filmography › Film
1967
Role(s)
Shooting Range Girl
Role(s)
Mrs. Quayle
Role(s)
Woman in Cafe
1968
Luther
Role(s)
Katharina Luther
1971
Role(s)
Mrs. Bird
Role(s)
Mrs. Palafox
Role(s)
Mrs. Hare
1973
Role(s)
Mrs. Finch
Role(s)
Freda - Lennie's Wife
Role(s)
Hospital Matron
| Year | Title | Role | |
| 1963 | Sparrows Can't Sing | Yootha | |
| 1963 | A Place to Go | Woman in Wash House | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The Pumpkin Eater | Woman at Hairdressers | Uncredited |
| 1965 | Fanatic | Anna | |
| 1965 | Catch Us If You Can | Nan | |
| 1966 | Kaleidoscope | Museum Receptionist | |
| 1966 | A Man for All Seasons | Avril Machin | |
| 1967 | Stranger in the House | Shooting Range Girl | |
| 1967 | Our Mother's House | Mrs. Quayle | |
| 1967 | Charlie Bubbles | Woman in Cafe | |
| 1968 | Luther | Katharina Luther | |
| 1969 | Twenty-Nine | prostitute | |
| 1970 | Fragment of Fear | Miss Ward-Cadbury | |
| 1971 | All the Right Noises | Mrs. Bird | |
| 1971 | The Road Builder | Mrs. Palafox | |
| 1971 | Burke & Hare | Mrs. Hare | |
| 1972 | Nearest and Dearest | Rhoda Rowbottom | |
| 1973 | Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width | Mrs. Finch | |
| 1973 | Steptoe and Son Ride Again | Freda - Lennie's Wife | |
| 1973 | Frankenstein: The True Story | Hospital Matron | |
| 1974 | Man About the House | Mildred Roper | |
| 1980 | George and Mildred | Mildred Roper |
· Filmography › Television
1962
1963
Corrigan Blake
Role(s)
Abigail
Notes
Episode: "The Removal Men"
Rita
Role(s)
Episode: "A Clerical Error"
1964
Story Parade
Role(s)
Ruth Cowley
Notes
Episode: "A Travelling Woman"
Diary of a Young Man
Role(s)
Mrs. Baggerdagger
Notes
Episode: "Money"
1965
The Wednesday Thriller
Role(s)
Mrs. Seam
Notes
Episode: "The Babysitter"
Six of the Best
Role(s)
Doris
Notes
Episode: "Charlie's Place"
1966
1966–1967
Role(s)
The Wednesday Play
Notes
Miriam Green
1967
This Way for Murder
Role(s)
Mrs. Dyberg
Notes
Episode: #1.3
1968
1968–1971
Role(s)
Me Mammy
Notes
Miss Eunice Argyll
1969
1970
Conceptions of Murder
Role(s)
Maria Kurten
Notes
Episode: "Peter and Maria"
1972
Tales from the Lazy Acre
Role(s)
Mrs. Gaynor
Notes
Episode: "The Last Great Pint-Drinking Tournament"
1973
1973–1976
Role(s)
Man About the House
Notes
Mildred Roper
1974
1976–1979
Role(s)
George and Mildred
Notes
Mildred Roper
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1962 | Brothers in Law | Mrs. Trench | Episode: "Separation Order" |
| 1962 | Armchair Theatre | Cissy | Episode: "The Fishing Match" |
| 1962 | Z-Cars | Clara Smales | Episode: "Full Remission" |
| 1962 | Benny Hill | Bella | Episode: "Cry of Innocence" |
| 1963 | Corrigan Blake | Abigail | Episode: "The Removal Men" |
| 1962 | Benny Hill | Elvira Crudd | Episode: "Mr. Apollo" |
| 1963 | Z-Cars | Mrs. Gilroy | Episode: "The Main Chance" |
| 1963 | Steptoe and Son | Delilah | Episode: "The Bath" |
| 1963 | Comedy Playhouse | Mrs. Wilson | Episode: "Impasse" |
| 1963 | Rita | Episode: "A Clerical Error" | |
| 1964 | The Wednesday Play | Rosalind Arnold | Episode: "The Confidence Course" |
| 1964 | ITV Play of the Week | The Woman | Episode: "I Can Walk Where I Like Can't I?" |
| 1964 | Dixon of Dock Green | Mrs. Gates | Episode: "Child Hunt" |
| 1964 | ITV Play of the Week | Jane Willows | Episode: "A Tricycle Made for Two" |
| 1964 | Story Parade | Ruth Cowley | Episode: "A Travelling Woman" |
| 1964 | ITV Play of the Week | Vera Maine | Episode: "Gina" |
| 1964 | Diary of a Young Man | Mrs. Baggerdagger | Episode: "Money" |
| 1964 | Dixon of Dock Green | Mabel Davies | Episode: "The Night Man" |
| 1964 | Redcap | Magda | Episode: "A Town Called Love" |
| 1965 | Frankie Howerd | Drunk Woman | Episode: |
| 1965 | Dixon of Dock Green | Landlady | Episode: "Forsaking All Others" |
| 1965 | Theatre 625 | Jane Matthews | Episode: "Try for White" |
| 1965 | Cluff | Flo Darby | Episode: "The Convict" |
| 1965 | The Wednesday Thriller | Mrs. Seam | Episode: "The Babysitter" |
| 1965 | Six of the Best | Doris | Episode: "Charlie's Place" |
| 1965 | Steptoe and Son | Avis | Episode: "A Box in Town" |
| 1965 | Theatre 625 | Miss Binnington | Episode: "Portraits from the North: The Nutter" |
| 1966 | Dixon of Dock Green | Joyce Watson | Episode: "You Can't Buy a Miracle" |
| 1966 | No Hiding Place | Hilda Myers | Episode: "Ask Me If I Killed Her" |
| 1966 | The Saint | Jovanka Milanova | Episode: "The Russian Prisoner" |
| 1966–1967 | The Wednesday Play | Miriam Green | 3 episodes |
| 1966 | George and the Dragon | Irma | Episode: "Merry Christmas" |
| 1967 | Turn Out the Lights | Monica Nolan | Episode: "A Big Hand for a Little Lady" |
| 1967 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Agnes | Episode: "Teeth" |
| 1967 | The Avengers | Miss Lister | Episode: "Something Nasty In The Nursery" |
| 1967 | Market in Honey Lane | Kay Fowler | Episode: "The Birds and the Business" |
| 1967 | This Way for Murder | Mrs. Dyberg | Episode: |
| 1967 | Harry Worth | Ingrid | Episode: "Four's a Crush" |
| 1968 | City '68 | Hilda | Episode: "Love Thy Neighbour" |
| 1968 | ITV Playhouse | Phoebe / Mrs. Bewley | Episode: "Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar" |
| 1968–1971 | Me Mammy | Miss Eunice Argyll | All 22 episodes |
| 1969 | Armchair Theatre | Alice | Episode: "Go on... It'll Do You Good" |
| 1969 | BBC Play of the Month | Mademoiselle Motte | Episode: "Maigret at Bay" |
| 1969 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Erica Seydoux | Episode: "A Measure of Malice" |
| 1969 | W. Somerset Maugham | Elvira | Episode: "Lord Mountdrago" |
| 1969 | Dixon of Dock Green | Mrs. Harper | Episode: "Reluctant Witness" |
| 1970 | Manhunt | Denise | Episode: "Fare Forward, Voyagers" |
| 1970 | The Misfit | Pamela | Episode: "On Reading the Small Print" |
| 1970 | Conceptions of Murder | Maria Kurten | Episode: "Peter and Maria" |
References
- "Yootha Joyce – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos"https://www.allmovie.com/artist/yootha-joyce-p36432
- "'Naughty rather than dirty': 50 years of Man About the House, the sitcom that introduced sex to British TV"https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/15/naughty-rather-than-dirty-50-years-of-man-about-the-house-the-sitcom-that-introduced-sex-to-british-tv
- Dear Yootha...: The Life of Yootha Joyce
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biographyhttps://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F74665
- Radio Times, 7–13 August 1971, p. 4
- The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmographyhttps://books.google.com/books?id=IiZnbykWAsIC&pg=PA110
- npg.org.ukhttp://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp87552/yootha-joyce-yootha-joyce-needham
- The Unforgettable Yootha Joyce, ITV, 2001
- Jack Clayton
- The New York Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20160305101057/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/36432/Yootha-Joyce/biography
- family-announcements.co.ukhttp://www.family-announcements.co.uk/localworld/view/3350243/yootha-joyce
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/mar/09/popandrock1
- "Yootha Joyce died an alcoholic – inquest told"https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19800916/097/0006
- The Times, 16 September 1980
- Meetings With Morrisseyhttps://books.google.com/books?id=Q8nPi6BUf-QC&pg=PT444
- The Kenneth Williams Diarieshttps://books.google.com/books?id=1yJaAAAAMAAJ
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2013/aug/12/smiths-artwork-posters-exhibition-pictures
- Radio Timeshttp://www.radiotimes.com/episode/vc42c/the-unforgettable--the-unforgettable-yootha-joyce
- "The tragedy of much-loved icon Yootha Joyce will make Edinburgh Fringe-goers laugh and cry"https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/tragedy-much-loved-icon-yootha-joyce-will-make-edinburgh-fringe-goers-laugh-and-cry-543197