Dame Penelope Keith dead at 86 – TV icon who starred in The Good Life & To the Manor Born dies after cancer battle

DAME Penelope Keith has died aged 86. The iconic actress, who was best known as Margot Leadbetter in The Good Life, passed away after a battle with cancer, her family announced. Her family confirmed the sad news in a statement today: “We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years. “The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.” The acclaimed actress, known affectionately to her friends as Penny, passed away leaving behind a legacy as one of Britain’s most recognisable television personalities. She was best known for her roles as snobbish suburbanite Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life, which launched in 1975, and the widowed aristocrat Audrey Fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born, which first aired in 1979. Most read in The Sun Her time on The Good Life earnt her a BAFTA in 1977. Born Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield in Sutton, Surrey, in 1940, her early life was marked by family upheaval. Her father, an army major, divorced her mother, Connie, when Penelope was just a baby. She was subsequently raised by her mother, who worked as a hotel hostess in Clacton-on-Sea, organising children’s games and evening entertainment. Most read in Showbiz It was her mother, with whom she remained fiercely close, who sparked her passion for the stage. A frustrated actress herself, Connie frequently took the young Penelope to West End matinees. Despite her clear ambition, Penelope’s road to stardom faced an early hurdle when she was rejected by the Central School of Speech and Drama for being too tall. But she battled on undeterred to win a place to train for the stage at the Webber Douglas Academy. Dame Penelope cut her teeth in repertory theatre in Chesterfield, honing her skills by playing an entirely different role every single week. Her formidable talent quickly caught the eye of the industry, leading her to join the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 for a season in Stratford, followed by performances at the Aldwych Theatre in London. She had a number of parts in TV shows across many years, including appearances in Dixon of Dock Green. Keith also starred in military sitcom The Army Game, in which she appeared alongside the likes of Dick Emery. National prominence arrived in 1975 when she was cast in The Good Life, the BBC sitcom centred on a couple attempting to escape the rat race through self-sufficiency in Surbiton. Her performance as the disapproving neighbour Margo Leadbetter won her a Bafta in 1977, cementing the programme’s status as one of the most iconic comedies of the decade. Just a year later, in 1978, Keith secured a second Bafta for The Norman Conquests. This televised adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn’s acclaimed trilogy of plays followed her previous success performing the same roles on stage. In 1979, Keith co-starred in the BBC comedy To the Manor Born. Having turned down numerous sitcom scripts in the years following The Good Life, she was approached with the role at a dinner party and decided it would make “excellent television”. Her portrayal of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton – a bereaved aristocrat forced to sell her estate, only to live at the on-site lodge after its new businessman owner moves in – would go on to be one of her most famous parts. The show proved so iconic that it was brought back for a one-off special in 2007, some 26 years after its previous television episode. Keith was made a dame in 2014 for her services to the arts and charities. Her non-acting work included 30 years as president of charity the Actors’ Benevolent Fund, replacing Laurence Olivier in the role after his death.