Yootha Joyce

Born: 1927-08-20

British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 198o, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" securing her place as a British cultural icon.


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A Man for All Seasons

as Averil Machin
Released: 1966-12-13

A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir...

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Fanatic

as Anna
Released: 1965-03-21

A young woman is terrorized by her fiance's demented mother who blames her for her son's death.

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The Pumpkin Eater

as Woman at Hairdresser's
Released: 1964-07-16

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a...

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Catch Us If You Can

as Nan
Released: 1965-07-15

Dinah is a famous model and actress who is getting tired of life in the limelight and wants to...

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Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs

as Archive Footage
Released: 2023-10-14

An affectionate look at the 1970s sitcom, with interviews and a look behind the scenes.

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Our Mother's House

as Mrs. Quayle
Released: 1967-09-14

Seven British children bury their mother and hide her death, until their long-lost father returns.

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The Road Builder

as Mrs. Palafox
Released: 1971-02-25

The dreary existence of middle-aged spinster Maura Prince takes an unexpected turn with the...

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Burke & Hare

as Mrs. Hare
Released: 1972-02-03

Two men go into business supplying medical colleges with cadavers by robbing graves.

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Steptoe & Son Ride Again

as Freda
Released: 1973-05-01

Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the...

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George & Mildred

as Mildred Roper
Released: 1980-10-10

Big screen spin-off of the Seventies sitcom. Mildred Roper is determined to make husband George...

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A Place to Go

as Bit Role (uncredited)
Released: 1963-07-01

Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in east London, A Place to Go charts the dramatic changes that...

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Sparrows Can't Sing

as Barmaid
Released: 1963-03-26

Charlie returns to the East End after two years at sea to find his house demolished and wife...

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Nearest and Dearest

as uncredited
Released: 1972-01-01

Jimmy Jewel and Hylda Baker star in this big screen spin-off of one of ITV's most popular comedy...

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Fragment of Fear

as Miss Ward-Cadbury
Released: 1970-09-03

A reformed drug addict travels to Italy to find out who murdered his aunt.

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Frankenstein: The True Story

as Hospital Matron
Released: 1974-09-19

Victor Frankenstein witnesses his creation turn uncontrollable after he's duped by his...

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Kaleidoscope

as Museum Receptionist
Released: 1966-07-01

Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer...

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Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar

as uncredited
Released: 1968-12-09

Edgar Lunt lives his life by scientific principles, that is, for every action there is a...

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Man About the House

as Mildred
Released: 1974-12-22

An unscrupulous property developer wants to flatten the street to make way for new buildings....

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All the Right Noises

as Mrs. Bird
Released: 1970-10-16

A married man with two small children begins an affair with a beautiful young actress which...

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Charlie Bubbles

as Woman in Cafe
Released: 1968-02-11

Charlie Bubbles, a writer, up from the working class of Manchester, England, who, in the course...

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Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

as Mrs. Finch
Released: 1973-01-03

Two London tailors horse around, wind up robbed, go to Rome and disrupt the Vatican.

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Cop-Out

as Shooting Range Girl
Released: 1967-05-23

John Sawyer, once an eminent barrister, has slid into a life of cynicism and drunkenness since...

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Twenty-Nine

as The prostitute
Released: 1969-01-01

Graham Baird wakes up in strange clothes in a strange apartment, both he and his wife want to...

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Luther

as Katharine Luther
Released: 1968-01-29

An epic drama of the 16th Century Catholic monk Martin Luther who started the Reformation.

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The Avengers

as Miss Lister
First aired: 1961-01-07

The Avengers is a British television series created in the 1960s. It initially focused on Dr....

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The Saint

as Milanov
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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No Hiding Place

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-16

No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by...

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Jason King

as uncredited
First aired: 1971-09-15

Jason King - a suavely sophisticated former secret agent turned novelist - travels the world...

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Manhunt

as Denise
First aired: 1970-01-02

Manhunt is a World War II drama series consisting of 26 episodes, produced by London Weekend...

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On the Buses

as uncredited
First aired: 1969-02-28

On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in...

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George and Mildred

as Mildred Roper
First aired: 1976-09-06

A middle-aged housewife feels frustrated with her mean and miserable husband, the married couple...

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Man About the House

as uncredited
First aired: 1973-08-15

Sitcom exploring the trials and tribulations created by one man and two women flat-sharing in...

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Frankenstein: The True Story

as Hospital Matron
First aired: 1973-11-30

Victor Frankenstein witnesses his creation turn uncontrollable after he's duped by his...

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Seven of One

as uncredited
First aired: 1973-03-25

Seven of One was a British comedy series that aired on BBC2 in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker, 7...

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