Josephine Tewson is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 actress. Tewson is perhaps best known for her roles as Elizabeth in the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television series Keeping Up Appearances

Keeping Up Appearances

Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...

and as Miss Davenport in the British television series Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...

.

Early life

Tewson was born in Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Her father was a professional musician. After grammar school, Tewson studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...

. She was briefly married to actor Leonard Rossiter

Leonard Rossiter

Leonard Rossiter was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp , and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin...

 and in 1961 divorced. She is a cousin of the late actor John Inman

John Inman

Frederick John Inman was an English actor best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame....

, best known for his role as Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served?

Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...

Early career

A regular comedy performer in sketches featuring Ronnie Corbett

Ronnie Corbett

Ronald Balfour "Ronnie" Corbett, OBE is a Scottish actor and comedian of Scottish and English parentage who had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the British television comedy series The Two Ronnies...

 and Ronnie Barker

Ronnie Barker

Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...

 on Frost

David Frost

Sir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...

 on Sunday and Hark at Barker

Hark at Barker

Hark at Barker was a 1969 British comedy series combining elements of sitcom and sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker. It was made for the ITV network by LWT.Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as a continuity announcer...

in 1970, she later appeared in Mostly Monkhouse, a BBC Radio Comedy programme with David Jason

David Jason

Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...

 supporting Bob Monkhouse

Bob Monkhouse

Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...

. She also appeared on the Charlie Drake

Charlie Drake

Charlie Drake was an English comedian, actor, writer and singer.With his small stature , curly red hair and liking for slapstick he was a popular comedian with children in his early years, becoming nationally-known for his "Hello, my darlings" catchphrase...

 show, Z Cars and Emergency - Ward 10 in the 1960s. Tewson played Edna Hawkins (usually referred to as Mrs H by Shelley) in the first six series of the British sitcom

British sitcom

A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...

 Shelley

Shelley (TV series)

Shelley is a British sitcom made by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1992, with occasional hiatuses. Hywel Bennett starred as James Shelley, a sardonic, 28-year-old, anti-establishment postgraduate and career income tax dodger...

. In 1988, she played Jane Travers in the sitcom Clarence

Clarence (TV series)

Clarence is a 1988 BBC situation comedy starring Ronnie Barker and Josephine Tewson, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym "Bob Ferris". It was Barker's final sitcom appearance before his retirement....

, which was written by Ronnie Barker

Ronnie Barker

Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...

 and was his last starring television role before his retirement.

Recent work

More recently, she has appeared semi-regularly as Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine

Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...

(written by Roy Clarke

Roy Clarke

Roy Clarke OBE is an English comedy writer.-Career:Clarke is best known for creating BBC Sitcoms; Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances...

, who also wrote Keeping Up Appearances). She has also appeared in two episodes of the documentary series Comedy Connections

Comedy Connections

Comedy Connections was a BBC One documentary series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 2003 to 2008. The show looked at the stories behind the production of some of Britain's comedy television programmes, showing how they tied in with the production of other comedy shows...

, talking about her work in Keeping Up Appearances (2004) and opposite The Two Ronnies

The Two Ronnies

The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...

(2005). In 2009, she played the role of Iris in the radio drama, Leaves in Autumn written by Susan Casanove and produced by the Wireless Theatre Company

Wireless Theatre Company

The Wireless Theatre Company is a not-for-profit online audio theatre company, founded in July 2007 by Mariele Runacre Temple, daughter of actress Jenny Runacre, the company produces radio plays, audio comedy and short stories for free download...

.

Other television appearances were in an episode of Heartbeat in 2002 called "Closing The Book", which was part of the eleventh series. She also featured as a competition judge in 'Judgement Day', an episode in the mystery drama Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...

.

Theatre

Theatre
Year	Play	Role	Notes
1957	Free as Air Free as Air Free as Air is a musical with lyrics by Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade and music by Julian Slade. They are the same team responsible for the much better known musical Salad Days, although Free as Air is said to be "more slick and professional by some critics"...	Ivy Crush	Savoy Theatre Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
1961	Androcles and the Lion Androcles and the Lion (play) Androcles and the Lion is a 1912 play written by George Bernard Shaw.Androcles and the Lion is Shaw's retelling of the tale of Androcles, a slave who is saved by the requited mercy of a lion. In the play, Shaw portrays Androcles to be one of the many Christians being led to the Colosseum for torture...	Megaera	Mermaid Theatre Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre at Puddle Dock, in Blackfriars, in the City of London and the first built there since the time of Shakespeare...
1968	The Real Inspector Hound The Real Inspector Hound The Real Inspector Hound is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit...	Mrs Drudge	Criterion Theatre Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
1986–1987	Woman in Mind (December Bee) Woman In Mind Woman in Mind is the 32nd play by English playwright, Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resulted in a transfer to London's West End...	Muriel	Vaudeville Theatre Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1968	Frost on Sunday The Frost Report The Frost Report was a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It ran for 29 episodes from 1966 to 1967. It is most notable for introducing John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett to television and also launching the careers of several comedians and performers.The main cast were...	various
1969	Hark at Barker Hark at Barker Hark at Barker was a 1969 British comedy series combining elements of sitcom and sketch show, which starred Ronnie Barker. It was made for the ITV network by LWT.Each show began with a spoof news item read by Barker as a continuity announcer...	Mildred Bates
1971	Copper's End	WPS Penny Pringle
1972	His Lordship Entertains His Lordship Entertains His Lordship Entertains was Ronnie Barker's second sitcom vehicle for his Lord Rustless character, first seen three years earlier in Hark at Barker on ITV. This time though, Rustless had switched channels and was now appearing on BBC2...	Mildred Bates
1974	Thriller Thriller (UK TV series) Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast...	Yvonne
1977	Odd Man Out	Dorothy
1978	The Hound of the Baskervilles The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film) The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1978 British comedy film spoofing The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It starred Peter Cook as Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Moore as Dr. Watson...	Nun
1979 to 1984	Shelley Shelley (TV series) Shelley is a British sitcom made by Thames Television and originally broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1984 and from 1988 to 1992, with occasional hiatuses. Hywel Bennett starred as James Shelley, a sardonic, 28-year-old, anti-establishment postgraduate and career income tax dodger...	Edna Hawkins
1985	Terry and June Terry and June Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...	Mrs Robins
1988	Clarence Clarence (TV series) Clarence is a 1988 BBC situation comedy starring Ronnie Barker and Josephine Tewson, written by Ronnie Barker under the pseudonym "Bob Ferris". It was Barker's final sitcom appearance before his retirement....	Jane Travers
1990 to 1995	Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...	Elizabeth Warden Elizabeth Warden Elizabeth Warden is a fictional character in the British situation comedy series Keeping Up Appearances, that first aired from 1990 to 1995. She is played by actress Josephine Tewson, and lives next-door to social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket...
1994	Coronation Street Coronation Street Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...	Peggy Phillips
2000	Midsomer Murders Midsomer Murders Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...	Samantha Johnstone
2002	Heartbeat	Mrs Morris
2003 to 2010	Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...	Miss (Lucinda) Davenport
2009	Doctors	Mrs Winston, a kleptomaniac

Commercials

Tewson played a nanny in 30-second commercial for Nabisco Fruit Newtons (first aired in 1997/U.S.)

External links

Jospehine Tewson in radio play Leaves In Autumn