English actress (1932–2023)
Jean Boht
Boht at Save TV Centre Studios in 2013
Born Jean Dance
(1932-03-06 ) 6 March 1932Died 12 September 2023(2023-09-12) (aged 91) Education Liverpool Playhouse Occupation Actress Years active 1962–2018 Known for Bread (1986–1991)[ 1] Spouses
William Boht
(
m. 1954;
div. 1970)
Children 2
Jean Boht (née Dance ; 6 March 1932 – 12 September 2023) was an English actress, most famous for the role of Nellie Boswell in Carla Lane 's sitcom Bread , one of several actors to remain with the show for its entire seven series tenure from 1986 to 1991.
Early life
Boht was born as Jean Dance on 6 March 1932 in Bebington , then in Cheshire , to Thomas Dance, a confectionery importer and chief entertainment officer of the local fire brigade, and pianist Edna May "Teddy", née Macdonald.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] She was educated at Wirral Grammar School for Girls .[ 5]
Career
Boht trained at the Liverpool Playhouse , where she started her career as a theatre actress, before touring the United Kingdom in stage roles, working in numerous West End Theatres including the Royal National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic .[ 1] In a career spanning from 1962 to 2018, she appeared largely in television productions. These included guesting parts in Softly, Softly (1971), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1978), Grange Hill (1978), Last of the Summer Wine (1978), Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), Scully (1984) and Juliet Bravo in the mid-1980s.
In was through her regular role in the sitcom Bread (1986–91), as matriarch Nellie Boswell, which Boht found her largest audience, with the series attracting some 20 million viewers.[ 1]
In 1989, Boht was the subject of This Is Your Life , and in 2008 she made a guest appearance in BBC One's daytime TV soap , Doctors .[citation needed ]
Boht starred in The Brighton Belles , an unsuccessful British adaptation of the American sitcom The Golden Girls as the character of Josephine, based on Sophia Petrillo , the part made famous by Estelle Getty .[ 1]
On stage, Boht appeared with Jeremy Irons in Embers (2006) at the Duke of York's Theatre in London .[ 6]
Boht also appeared in the film Mothers and Daughters (2004), and starred in Chris Shepherd 's award-winning short film Bad Night for the Blues (2010).[citation needed ]
Personal life, illness and death
Commemorative plaque honouring Jean's mother Teddy Dance
Her first marriage to William Boht ended in divorce. She married the American-British conductor and composer Carl Davis on 28 December 1970.[ 7] They had two daughters, filmmakers Hannah (born 1972) and Jessie (born 1974).[ 7] Boht and Davis were executive producers on Hannah Davis's film The Understudy and they appeared in the film as a married couple.[ 8] [ 9] Davis died on 3 August 2023, just six weeks before Boht herself.[ 10]
Boht was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease . She was a resident at Denville Hall , a retirement home in Northwood , London, for actors and other members of the entertainment industry.[ 11]
Boht died from complications of dementia on 12 September 2023, aged 91.[ 1] [ 12] [ 13]
Awards
Boht won a British Comedy Award (now known as the "National Comedy Awards") for Best Comedy Actress in 1990.[ 11]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1968
Mr. Rose
Woman
3.01 "The Less-Than-Iron-Duke"
1970
Scene
Mrs. Potter
3.04 "£60 Single, £100 Return"
1971
Softly, Softly: Task Force
Mrs. Lacey
2.22 "Games"
1973
Six Days of Justice
Mrs. Taylor
2.02 "A Clear-Cut Case"
1973
Ego Hugo
Madame Mars-George
Television film
1973
Z-Cars
Clerk of the Court
9.08 "The Cinder Path"
1975
Couples
Mrs. Bannister
6 episodes
1976
Where Adam Stood
Mary Teague
Television film
1976
Bill Brand
Edna Copple
1.10 "Revisions"
1977
Esther Waters
Mrs. Spires
1.02 "Episode Two"
1977
Last of the Summer Wine
Maureen
4.05 "Who Made a Bit of a Splash in Wales Then?"
1978
Grange Hill
First Shop Assistant
1.05 "Episode Five"
1978
The Sweeney
Woman Neighbour
4.11 "Hearts and Mind"
1978
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Mrs. Lewis
3.01 "Moving House" 3.03 "Scottish Dancing"
1979
Mother Nature's Bloomers
Various characters
6 episodes
1981
Sons and Lovers
Mrs. Leivers
Television miniseries
1981
Funny Man
Elsie
13 episodes
1981
Juliet Bravo
Mrs. Stannard
2.04 "Lies and Liars"
1982
Triangle
Mrs. Carter
7 episodes
1982
Juliet Bravo
Mrs. Fairchild
3.07 "Nothing to Report"
1982
Boys from the Blackstuff
D.O.E. - Miss Sutcliffe
1.03 "Shop Thy Neighbour"
1983
Goodnight and God Bless
Doris
1.05 "Ronnie's Wonderful Day"
1983
Maybury
Lucy Wildego
2.06 "Love's Labour: Part 1"
1983
Spyship
Mrs. Silvers
Television miniseries
1983
Juliet Bravo
Mrs. Jackson
4.12 "Off Duty"
1983
Bergerac
Mrs. Farrell
3.03 "Holiday Snaps"
1984
Scully
Gran
Television miniseries
1984
Arthur's Hallowed Ground
Betty
Television film
1985–1986
I Woke Up One Morning
Mrs. Hamilton
8 episodes
1986–1991
Bread
Nellie Boswell
74 episodes
1987
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
Madame Joliet
1.09 "4:50 from Paddington "
1988
Screenplay
Mrs. Bing
3.04 "Eskimos Do It"
1992
The Cloning of Joanna May
Mrs. Love
Television miniseries
1992
Cluedo
Sister Concepta
3.05 "And Then There Were Nuns"
1993
Comedy Playhouse
Josephine
1.03 "Brighton Belles: Pilot"
1993–1994
Brighton Belles
Josephine
11 episodes
1995
The Big Game
Mrs. Harper
Television film
1996
Jim's Gift
Mrs. Leaver
Television film
1998
Casualty
Lil Clarke
13.15 "No Place Like Home"
2000
Doctors
Sylvia Wharton
1.27 "Loose Ends" 1.32 "Twist of Fate" 1.41 "To Have and to Hold"
2002
Holby City
Anita Reynolds
4.31 "Hearts and Minds"
2003
The Bill
Winnie Kettering
19.48 "123: High Speed Chaos"
2003
Trial & Retribution
Female Neighbour
7.02 "Suspicion: Part 2"
2005
Celebrate 'Oliver!'
Widow Corney
Television film
2006
Doctors
Jean Clarkson
8.105 "Before the Fall"
2007
Holby City
Rosemary Mulligan
9.34 "Another Country"
2007
The Bill
Rose Harrison
23.59 "Deadly Secrets"
2008
Doctors
Norah Joyce
10.107 "Ben and Norah"
2009
Casualty
Dorothy Gilbert
23.45 "Ashes"
2010
Missing
Barbara Mansfield
2.08 "Proving the Point"
2010
Doctors
Billie Cannon
12.84 "A Call of Nature"
2011
Skins
Doreen
5.08 "Everyone"
2011
Justice
Mrs. Roden
1.02 "Like Father Like Son"
2012
Casualty
Doris Quinn
26.21 "The Only One You Love"
2012
Doctors
Doreen Bennett
14.70 "Good Citizens"
Video games
References
External links
International National Artists People