Yootha Joyce
Biography
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 1980, 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.
Known For
The Avengers
The Saint
BBC Play of the Month
Thirty-Minute Theatre
No Hiding Place
The Wednesday Play
Theatre 625
Theatre 625
All Movies (26)
- Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs2023 · as Archive Footage
- George & Mildred1980 · as Mildred Roper
- Man About the House1974 · as Mildred Roper
- Frankenstein: The True Story1974 · as Hospital Matron
- Steptoe & Son Ride Again1973 · as Freda
- Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width1973 · as Mrs. Finch
- Burke & Hare1972 · as Mrs. Hare
- Nearest and Dearest1972 · as Mrs. Rhoda Rowbottom
- The Road Builder1971 · as Mrs. Palafox
- All the Right Noises1970 · as Mrs. Bird
- Fragment of Fear1970 · as Miss Ward-Cadbury
- Maigret at Bay1969 · as Mlle. Motte
- Twenty-Nine1969 · as The Prostitute
- Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar1968
- Charlie Bubbles1968 · as Woman in Cafe
- Luther1968 · as Katharine Luther
- Our Mother's House1967 · as Mrs. Quayle
- Stranger in the House1967 · as Shooting Range Girl
- A Man for All Seasons1966 · as Averil Machin
- Kaleidoscope1966 · as Museum Receptionist
- Catch Us If You Can1965 · as Nan
- Fanatic1965 · as Anna
- The Pumpkin Eater1964 · as Woman at Hairdresser's
- A Place to Go1963 · as Bit Role (uncredited)
- Sparrows Can't Sing1963 · as Barmaid
- The Fishing Match1962 · as Cissy
All TV Shows (26)
- The World of Hammer1994 · as Self (archive footage)
- George and Mildred1976 · as Mildred Roper
- Frankenstein: The True Story1973 · as Hospital Matron
- Man About the House1973 · as Mildred Roper
- Seven of One1973 · as Mrs Scully
- Jason King1971
- The Misfit1970 · as Pamela
- Manhunt1970 · as Denise
- W. Somerset Maugham1969 · as Elvira
- On the Buses1969
- ITV Saturday Night Theatre1969 · as Erica Seydoux
- ITV Playhouse1967 · as Phoebe
- BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Mademoiselle Motte
- Thirty-Minute Theatre1965 · as Agnes
- The Wednesday Thriller1965 · as Mrs Seam
- Redcap1964 · as Magda
- The Wednesday Play1964 · as Rosalind Arnold
- Theatre 6251964 · as Jane Matthews
- Theatre 6251964 · as Miss Binnington
- Story Parade1964 · as Ruth Cowley
- The Saint1962 · as Milanov
- Corrigan Blake1962
- The Avengers1961 · as Miss Lister
- No Hiding Place1959
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as Cissy
- Armchair Theatre1956 · as Alice