Josephine Tewson is best remembered as Elizabeth, the accident-prone neighbour of Hyacinth Bucket – pronounced bouquet – in Keeping Up Appearances (1990-95).
She began acting in the early 1950s and has worked with many British comedy greats, including Ronnie Barker.
She was married firstly to actor Leonard Rossiter and then to Henry Newman, who died in 1980.
Josephine lives in London.
I chose drama school because university may have meant teaching afterwards, which I didn’t want.
I chose drama school because university may have meant teaching afterwards, which I didn’t want
Josephine Tewson
“After graduating, I sent photographs to every rep company in the country and, despite being unemployed for six months, found one in Darlington. It was strange moving north because I’d not really set foot outside of London.
“I continued in theatre for years, doing comedies, straight plays and the classics. Then came roles in TV dramas such as Sergeant Cork and No Hiding Place, followed by my big break in Frost On Sunday with Ronnie Barker. That was broadcast live and I played characters in sketches with him and Ronnie Corbett. My first comedy series with Ronnie was Hark At Barker, which he developed into His Lordship Entertains.
“I was getting known mostly for TV comedies, having worked with Dick Emery, Bob Monkhouse, Les Dawson, Terry Scott and Harry Worth. They’d seen me on The Charlie Drake Show. Charlie could be tricky to work with; so it was a case of ‘she got on well with him, so she must be all right.’
“The show that really pushed me forward was The Two Ronnies, which had a huge audience. The last series I did with Ronnie was Clarence in 1988.
“I’d done comedy for Harold Snoad, the producer of Keeping Up Appearances, before and he thought I’d be just right as Elizabeth. It lasted six enjoyable years. I saw Pat Routledge not long ago at Chichester Cathedral and I often see Clive Swift, who played Richard. We live near each other and both enjoy watching cricket at Lord’s.
“I continued in theatre and TV dramas like Heartbeat and Midsomer Murders. Then, in 2003, Roy Clarke, who wrote Keeping Up Appearances, got in touch to say that he was thinking of me for a new character called Miss Davenport in Last Of The Summer Wine. She was lovely to play, so I stayed until the end of the run.
“Afterwards I did theatre, some very well written episodes of Doctors and Lewis, and then came my one-woman show, Still Keeping Up Appearances? in which I tell stories about my life as an actress and the people I’ve known, such as Leonard Rossiter, to whom I was married for four years.
“I also talk about my family, including my great-grandfather, who founded Derby County FC; my grandfather,
who played cricket for Nottinghamshire and my father, who was a foundling at the Foundling Hospital for underprivileged children. He later played double bass with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
