Yootha Joyce
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.
48 acting credits
Acting · 48
The Avengers
1961
The Saint
1962
BBC Play of the Month
1965
ITV Playhouse
1967
Theatre 625
1964
The Wednesday Play
1964
No Hiding Place
1959
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
Jason King
1971
The World of Hammer
1994
On the Buses
1969
Story Parade
1964
George and Mildred
1976
Redcap
1964
Manhunt
1970
Man About the House
1973
A Man for All Seasons
1966
Armchair Theatre
1956
The Misfit
1970
Frankenstein: The True Story
1973
Seven of One
1973
Kaleidoscope
1966
The Pumpkin Eater
1964
Burke & Hare
1972
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973
Stranger in the House
1967
George & Mildred
1980
Our Mother's House
1967
All the Right Noises
1970
Corrigan Blake
1962
Charlie Bubbles
1968
Fanatic
1965
Man About the House
1974
Fragment of Fear
1970
The Wednesday Thriller
1965
Frankenstein: The True Story
1974
A Place to Go
1963
Catch Us If You Can
1965
The Road Builder
1971
Sparrows Can't Sing
1963
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1973
Luther
1968
Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar
1968
Nearest and Dearest
1972
Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs
2023
Twenty-Nine
1969
The Fishing Match
1962
Maigret at Bay
1969