Penelope Keith
Encyclopedia
Penelope Anne Constance Keith, CBE
, DL
(née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress.
Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom
The Good Life. This role earned Keith her first of two BAFTA
s, the second being in 1978 for The Norman Conquests
. One year after The Good Life's finale, Keith was the lead character in another BBC sitcom, To the Manor Born
, a show that received audiences of more than 20 million. In the 1980s and 1990s, she appeared as the lead character in six other sitcoms. Since the 1990s, Keith has appeared rarely on television and works mainly in the theatre.
in 1940. Her father, who was a Major
by the end of the World War II
, left her mother Connie when she was a baby, and Keith spent her early years in Clacton-on-Sea
and Clapham
. Her great uncle, John Gurney, was a partner in the coachbuilding
firm J. Gurney Nutting & Company Ltd
and Keith recalls sitting in the Prince of Wales's car.
Although not Catholic, at the age of six she was sent to a Catholic
boarding school
in Seaford
, Sussex
. It was here that a young Keith first became interested in acting, and frequently went to matinees in the West End
with her mother. When she was eight years old, her mother remarried and Penelope adopted her stepfather's surname of Keith. While she did not get on with her stepfather, her mother was a "rock of love" to her. Keith was rejected from the Central School of Speech and Drama
, on the grounds that, at 5'10", she was too tall. However, she was then accepted at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
, and spent two years there while working at the Hyde Park Hotel in the evening.
She began her career working in rep
across the UK, including Lincoln
, Manchester
and Salisbury
. Keith's earliest appearances were in The Tunnel of Love
, Gigi
and Flowering Cherry. In 1963, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
both in Stratford
and at the Aldwych Theatre
in London.
, Dixon of Dock Green
, Wild, Wild Women
and The Avengers
. In the early 1970s, she appeared in The Morecambe & Wise Show
, Ghost Story and The Pallisers
. Her film appearances during this time included Every Home Should Have One
, Take A Girl Like You
, Rentadick
and Penny Gold
. In 1967, she had a minor role in Carry On Doctor
, but the scene was cut from the final edit.
Her best known theatre appearance, in 1974, was playing Sarah in The Norman Conquests
, opposite her The Good Life co-star Richard Briers
. Keith and Briers would often film The Good Life during the day and perform on stage in the West End in the evening.
sitcom
The Good Life began. In the first episode, she was only heard and not seen in her role as Margo Leadbetter, but as the episodes and series went on, the scope of her role increased. In 1977, Keith won a BAFTA
award for 'Best Comedy Performer' for her role of Margo Leadbetter.
During 1979-81, she played the lead role of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in the TV series To the Manor Born
.
Following To the Manor Born, Keith has appeared in six other sitcoms as the main lead: Sweet Sixteen
, Moving
, Executive Stress
, No Job for a Lady
, Law and Disorder
and Next of Kin
. She also had the starring role in a TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's play Spider's Web. She won a second BAFTA award as 'Best Actress' in 1978 for The Norman Conquests. In 1988, she hosted one series of the ITV
panel show What's My Line?, following the death of its original presenter Eamonn Andrews
. She had a featured role in the 1998 ITV serial Coming Home
.
's Star Quality, while in 2004 she played Madame Arcati in Coward's Blithe Spirit
at the Savoy Theatre
. In 2004, Keith starred in the first of 5 full-cast BBC radio dramatisations of M.C. Beaton
's Agatha Raisin
novels, playing the title role. Two years later, she appeared at the Chichester Festival
in the premiere of Richard Everett’s comedy Entertaining Angels, which she later took on tour.
In 2007, she played the part of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest
on tour, which transferred to the West End
in 2008, at the Vaudeville Theatre
. She has voiced adverts including ones for Pimm's
, Lurpak
, Tesco
and, most famously, The Parker Pen Company
, which was named one of the 100 Greatest Adverts in a Channel 4
programme.
In 1997, she provided the voice of the narrator for Teletubbies
, and also starred in the radio adaptations of To the Manor Born
. In 2003, she appeared opposite June Brown
in the television film Margery and Gladys
. In 2007, she starred in a one-off To the Manor Born Christmas Special, In 2009 she presented Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady, a one-off documentary for BBC Four
about Dorothy Levitt
, the Edwardian
motoring pioneer. She returned to television in 2011 presenting the four part BBC documentary To The Manor Reborn
where Keith was performing. Timson, who is eight years her junior, had been married twice before. They adopted
two children, who were brothers, in 1988.
Keith and Timson live in Milford
, Surrey
, and she has a great passion for gardening. In 1984, she had a rose
named after her. Penelope Keith has been President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund since 1990, taking over after the death of Lord Olivier
, and is president of the South West Surrey
National Trust
.
On 2 April 2002, her 62nd birthday, she began a one-year term as High Sheriff of Surrey
, being only the third woman to hold the post. She is also a Deputy Lieutenant
of Surrey.
She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in the 1990 New Year Honours, and was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours
for "charitable services".
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress.
Having started her television career in the 1950s, Penelope Keith became a household name in the United Kingdom in the 1970s when she played Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
The Good Life. This role earned Keith her first of two BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
s, the second being in 1978 for The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour...
. One year after The Good Life
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
, a show that received audiences of more than 20 million. In the 1980s and 1990s, she appeared as the lead character in six other sitcoms. Since the 1990s, Keith has appeared rarely on television and works mainly in the theatre.
Early life
Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield was born in SuttonSutton, London
Sutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
in 1940. Her father, who was a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
by the end of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, left her mother Connie when she was a baby, and Keith spent her early years in Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea
Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday...
and Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...
. Her great uncle, John Gurney, was a partner in the coachbuilding
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
firm J. Gurney Nutting & Company Ltd
J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited
J Gurney Nutting & Co Limited was an English firm of bespoke coachbuilders specialising in sporting bodies founded in 1918 as a new enterprise by a Croydon firm of builders and joiners of the same name...
and Keith recalls sitting in the Prince of Wales's car.
Although not Catholic, at the age of six she was sent to a Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in Seaford
Seaford, East Sussex
Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. It was here that a young Keith first became interested in acting, and frequently went to matinees in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
with her mother. When she was eight years old, her mother remarried and Penelope adopted her stepfather's surname of Keith. While she did not get on with her stepfather, her mother was a "rock of love" to her. Keith was rejected from the Central School of Speech and Drama
Central School of Speech and Drama
The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...
, on the grounds that, at 5'10", she was too tall. However, she was then accepted at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
, and spent two years there while working at the Hyde Park Hotel in the evening.
She began her career working in rep
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
across the UK, including Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
. Keith's earliest appearances were in The Tunnel of Love
The Tunnel of Love
The Tunnel of Love is a 1958 romantic comedy film based on the Broadway hit by Peter De Vries and Joseph Fields. The film follows a married suburban couple who for reasons unknown, are unable to conceive a child and soon endure endless red tape on a path of adopting a child. The film is the first...
, Gigi
Gigi (1958 film)
Gigi is a 1958 musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is based on the 1944 novella of the same name by Colette...
and Flowering Cherry. In 1963, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
both in Stratford
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
and at the Aldwych Theatre
Aldwych Theatre
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
in London.
Early career
She started her television career in programmes such as The Army GameThe Army Game
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
, Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, Wild, Wild Women
Wild, Wild Women
Wild, Wild Women was a British sitcom that aired on BBC from 1968 to 1969. Made in black-and-white, it starred Barbara Windsor and was written by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney.-Pilot:*Barbara Windsor - Millie*Derek Francis - Mr Harcourt...
and The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
. In the early 1970s, she appeared in The Morecambe & Wise Show
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
, Ghost Story and The Pallisers
The Pallisers
The Pallisers is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.-Cast :*Anthony Ainley: Rev. Emilius*Terence Alexander: Lord George*Anthony Andrews: Lord Silverbridge*Sarah Badel: Lizzie Eustace...
. Her film appearances during this time included Every Home Should Have One
Every Home Should Have One
Every Home Should Have One is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman, Judy Cornwell, Patrick Cargill, Penelope Keith and Julie Ege. An advertising man is tasked by his boss with trying to come up with a sexy new image for porridge...
, Take A Girl Like You
Take a Girl Like You (film)
Take a Girl Like You is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jonathan Miller and starring Hayley Mills, Oliver Reed, Sheila Hancock, Ronald Lacey, John Bird, Noel Harrison, Aimi MacDonald and Penelope Keith. It was based on the 1960 novel Take a Girl Like You by Kingsley Amis, and was adapted by...
, Rentadick
Rentadick
Rentadick is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, involving the the attempts to protect a new experimental nerve gas....
and Penny Gold
Penny Gold
Penny Gold is a 1973 British drama film directed by Jack Cardiff and starring James Booth, Francesca Annis, Nicky Henson and Joss Ackland. Two policemen investigate a series of murders, discovering the motivation was an extremely valuable stamp.-Cast:...
. In 1967, she had a minor role in Carry On Doctor
Carry On Doctor
Carry On Doctor is the fifteenth film in the Carry On series. It is the second in the series to have a medical theme. Frankie Howerd makes the first of his two appearances in the film series. He stars alongside regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw...
, but the scene was cut from the final edit.
Her best known theatre appearance, in 1974, was playing Sarah in The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests
The Norman Conquests is a trilogy of plays written in 1973 by Alan Ayckbourn. The small scale of the drama is typical of Ayckbourn. There are only six characters, namely Norman, his wife Ruth, her brother Reg and his wife Sarah, Ruth's sister Annie, and Tom, Annie's next-door-neighbour...
, opposite her The Good Life co-star Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
. Keith and Briers would often film The Good Life during the day and perform on stage in the West End in the evening.
Television fame
Penelope Keith achieved popular fame in 1975 when the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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...
The Good Life began. In the first episode, she was only heard and not seen in her role as Margo Leadbetter, but as the episodes and series went on, the scope of her role increased. In 1977, Keith won a BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
award for 'Best Comedy Performer' for her role of Margo Leadbetter.
During 1979-81, she played the lead role of Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in the TV series To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
.
Following To the Manor Born, Keith has appeared in six other sitcoms as the main lead: Sweet Sixteen
Sweet Sixteen (TV series)
Sweet Sixteen is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 in 1983. It stars Penelope Keith and was written by Douglas Watkinson and directed and produced by Gareth Gwenlan.-Cast:*Penelope Keith — Helen Walker*Christopher Villiers — Peter Morgan...
, Moving
Moving (TV series)
Moving is a British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1985. It stars Penelope Keith and was written by Stanley Price. It was made for the ITV network by Thames Television.-Background:...
, Executive Stress
Executive Stress
Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988....
, No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady
No Job for a Lady is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1990 to 1992. Starring Penelope Keith, it was written by Alex Shearer, and directed and produced by John Howard Davies...
, Law and Disorder
Law and Disorder (TV series)
Law and Disorder is a British sitcom that aired on ITV in 1994. Starring Penelope Keith, it was written by Alex Shearer, who had also written No Job for a Lady, which Keith appears in. It was directed and produced by John Howard Davies...
and Next of Kin
Next of Kin (TV series)
Next of Kin is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1995 to 1997. It starred Penelope Keith in her last regular sitcom role. It was written byGavin Petrie and Jan Etherington....
. She also had the starring role in a TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's play Spider's Web. She won a second BAFTA award as 'Best Actress' in 1978 for The Norman Conquests. In 1988, she hosted one series of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
panel show What's My Line?, following the death of its original presenter Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...
. She had a featured role in the 1998 ITV serial Coming Home
Coming Home (TV serial)
Coming Home is a 1998 British serial directed by Giles Foster. The teleplay by John Goldsmith is based on the novel of the same title by Rosamunde Pilcher. Produced by Yorkshire Television, it was broadcast in two parts by ITV in April 1998.-Plot:...
.
Ongoing work
Keith has regularly appeared on stage across the country. This has included a role in Noël CowardNoël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Star Quality, while in 2004 she played Madame Arcati in Coward's Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
at the 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,...
. In 2004, Keith starred in the first of 5 full-cast BBC radio dramatisations of M.C. Beaton
Marion Chesney
Marion Chesney is a popular and prolific author. She has written numerous successful historical romance novels under her own name, including the Travelling Matchmaker and Daughters of Mannerling series. Using the pseudonym M. C...
's Agatha Raisin
Agatha Raisin
Agatha Raisin is a fictional detective in a series of mystery novels by Marion Chesney using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton. They are published in the U.K. by Constable & Robinson and in the U.S.A. by St...
novels, playing the title role. Two years later, she appeared at the Chichester Festival
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
in the premiere of Richard Everett’s comedy Entertaining Angels, which she later took on tour.
In 2007, she played the part of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
on tour, which transferred to the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in 2008, at the 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...
. She has voiced adverts including ones for Pimm's
Pimm's
Pimm's is a brand of fruit cups, but may also be considered a liqueur. It was first produced in 1823 by James Pimm and owned by Diageo since 2006. Its most popular product is Pimm's No. 1 Cup.-History:...
, Lurpak
Lurpak
Lurpak is a Danish brand of butter owned by the Danish Dairy Board. It is sold in over 80 countries worldwide and is best known for its distinct silver packaging...
, Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and, most famously, The Parker Pen Company
Parker Pen Company
The Parker Pen Company is a manufacturer of pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. It is currently owned by Newell Rubbermaid, and headquartered in Newhaven, East Sussex, England.-History:...
, which was named one of the 100 Greatest Adverts in a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
programme.
In 1997, she provided the voice of the narrator for Teletubbies
Teletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
, and also starred in the radio adaptations of To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born
To the Manor Born is a British sitcom that first aired on BBC1 from 1979 to 1981. A special edition appeared in 2007. Starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles, the first 20 episodes and the 2007 special were written by Peter Spence, the creator, while the 1981 finale was written by Christopher...
. In 2003, she appeared opposite June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
in the television film Margery and Gladys
Margery and Gladys
Margery and Gladys is a made-for-TV film released in 2003. It was directed by Geoffrey Sax.-Plot:Recently-widowed Margery Heywood and her cleaning woman Gladys Gladwell disturb a would-be burglar breaking into Margery's house in Kent. Margery attacks the burglar with a heavy glass vase, and...
. In 2007, she starred in a one-off To the Manor Born Christmas Special, In 2009 she presented Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady, a one-off documentary for BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
about Dorothy Levitt
Dorothy Levitt
Dorothy Elizabeth Levitt, was a motorina and sporting motoriste of the early 20th century. On 4 July 1903 she was reported as the first woman ever to compete in a motor race...
, the Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
motoring pioneer. She returned to television in 2011 presenting the four part BBC documentary To The Manor Reborn
Personal life
In 1978, the year The Good Life ended, she married Rodney Timson, a former policeman. They had met while he was on duty at Chichester TheatreChichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
where Keith was performing. Timson, who is eight years her junior, had been married twice before. They adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
two children, who were brothers, in 1988.
Keith and Timson live in Milford
Milford, Surrey
Milford is a large village, situated south west of Godalming in Surrey, England. Nearby villages include Witley, Elstead and Eashing, and the hamlets of Enton and Hydestile. It is situated in the Borough of Waverley.-Transportation:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and she has a great passion for gardening. In 1984, she had a rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
named after her. Penelope Keith has been President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund since 1990, taking over after the death of Lord Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, and is president of the South West Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
On 2 April 2002, her 62nd birthday, she began a one-year term as High Sheriff of Surrey
High Sheriff of Surrey
-List of High Sheriffs of Surrey:The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066 At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex -1066-1228:...
, being only the third woman to hold the post. She is also a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Surrey.
She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in the 1990 New Year Honours, and was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours
New Year Honours 2007
The New Year Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 30 December 2006, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2007....
for "charitable services".