Penelope Keith Has Died

[REP22]

Dame Penelope Keith: The Good Life actress dies aged 86 - BBC News

Very sad. She was fabulous. RIP x

thats my cue to start rewatching to the manor born.

I've rewatched quite a few of The Good Life, I'd forgotten how good the shows were and how funny Margo was. It's been a real pleasure to watch them again.

RIP Penelope Keith

I can remember watching it on my first black and white portable TV with a crappy arial. Had to hang it by a wire on the back of an airing cupboard. Happy days!

I will always think of her as Margot. But I've seen her in serious things too. she was an excellent actress.

Wouldn't see have been wonderful in an Alan Bennett Talking Heads?
A wonderful life, well lived.

I will never not laugh at her as Margot in full yellow waterproofs, sliding down the garden path!
Margot was actually my favourite character in TGL; Penelope Keith absolutely brought her to life. She was a great actress and came across as a wonderfully warm, intelligent and witty woman.

You and me both - and not just because of my major crush on Peter Bowles

What a wonderful lady ... and then of course thhere was this:

https://x.com/TheStingisBack/status/2071558237459996688

Apparently the BBC tribute episode of the Good Life was on at 7, but iplayer have episodes of to the manor born and the good life. I might have to go and find out why the ooh ah bird lays square eggs.

she was the woman yph got to know who was a bit too snarky but so much fun

I rewatched To The Manor Born during lockdown, it holds up incredibly well and is still an absolute joy. They also nailed the ending, it’s a masterclass on how to say goodbye to beloved characters in a satisfying way. I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role

So sad to hear this. I grew up watching The Good Life and TTMB -and have such happy memories of my grandma and grandpa roaring with laughter watching them both.

Margo was so glamorous, and as a tall, gangly teenager it was lovely to see a fellow tall woman be so confident and elegant. RIP Penelope x

'Margo was so glamorous, and as a tall, gangly teenager it was lovely to see a fellow tall woman be so confident and elegant'

Very much agree with this. I also loved Frances de la Tour in Rising Damp - much less glamorous than Margot but still a very attractive woman who wasn't a cute little Felicity Kendall type

I watched the programme on tonight about her talking about the Good Life. I feel so sad she's gone.

I've just watched it, it was so good. It was the one where Margo was putting a windbreak in her garden, and the Goods wanted it moved. Then they all ended up drunk on Tom's wine, Jerry told Barbara he fancied her, and Margo got all upset over not having a sense of humour.

Romeiswheretheheartis
and Margo got all upset over not having a sense of humour.

"But why is it funny?"
And later:
"Do you know what they used to call me at school?"
Tom: "Margot Leadbetter?"
"No. I wasn't married then"
followed by
"They called me 'Starchy'. 'Starchy Sturgiss'".
Tom: "Boys can be so cruel."
Margot dissolves into tears, "It was a girls' school!"

Really sad news. She was wonderful, especially as Agatha Raisin, in the Radio 4 series. So cutting but funny. RIP.

I think it's now agreed that whereas in the 70s Tom Good was seen as a bit of a hero, he was actually loathed as a character by Richard Briers for essentially jacking in his job and forcing Barbs into subsistence farming because he couldn't cope with the idea of being 40.

You could see her starting an AIBU thread 🧵 on it. "My DH came home before his 40th birthday and announced he was ploughing up our front garden and buying 20 bags of horse manure to set up a suburban farm..."

She was wonderful, especially as Agatha Raisin, in the Radio 4 series.

I didn't know she'd done this. I read all the Agatha Raisin books and that is absolutely perfect casting. If she'd been cast when slightly younger it would have been perfect TV casting. She's almost exactly how I imagined Agatha Raisin in terms of manner and style and attitude.

RIP

Thinking about it, isn’t it interesting (if I’m remembering correctly) that neither The Good Life or To The Manor Born ever decided to throw a spanner in the works about the female leads being mothers/wanting kids/producing a long lost nephew or niece for them to parent? Everyone was squarely in their late 30s/early 40s and kids unmentioned. There’s an idea lol! (admittedly I did ponder who would inherit the manor after Audrey )

I waa reading about her other TV work, and she did a sitcom in the 1990's where her estranged son and wife got killed in accident and their 3 kids came to live with her and her husband. She hated them, and had also treated her son appallingly when he was growing up. The premis seems to have been a gradual warming towards the kids, but her character sounded awful and it was quite heavily criticised. I wonder what made her take on such an unlikeable character after being a bit of a national treasure? I have no recollection of it at all.

I do remember that, although only saw a bit of it. There was an episode where she read the granddaughters diary and found out it was her birthday. So she threw her a small party and in the middle of it the granddaughter announced it wasn't her birthday, she just put that in her diary to test if the PK character was reading her diary.

I loved To the Manor Born - there was even a 25th Wedding Anniversary special that aired at Christmas 2007.

She also made a good Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Death Comes to Pemberley.

>>>I wonder what made her take on such an unlikeable character after being a bit of a national treasure?

Er... you know... acting?

"No darling, I don't think I will play Lady Macbeth. Too unlikeable."

I grew up with The Good Life and was a fan of TTMB. I saw her in many different roles and was an admirer of the way she could bring characters to life and lay out all their flaws and strengths. According to my BiL who met her after a theatre performance, she was a little bit of all of her characters with a wicked sense of humour thrown in. I loved her. I can’t remember the last time I was genuinely moved to tears by a celebrities’ passing. RIP Ms Keith, you were and will continue to be a national treasure and you are missed.

Next of Kin. Three series. Was considered a bit dark but it at least addressed an elephant the room, that not everyone is cut out to be a parent and some seriously regret it afterwards. They just said it out loud. And why not?

Keith also insisted that Manor Born came to an end with them getting married as she felt to go on any longer "will they/won't they" was unrealistic and cheating the audience.