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 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.
Acted in
Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs
2023
as Archive Footage
George & Mildred
1980
as Mildred Roper
George and Mildred
1976
as Mildred Roper
Man About the House
1974
as Mildred
Frankenstein: The True Story
1974
as Hospital Matron
Frankenstein: The True Story
1973
as Hospital Matron
Man About the House
1973
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
1973
as Freda
Seven of One
1973
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1973
as Mrs. Finch
Burke & Hare
1972
as Mrs. Hare
Nearest and Dearest
1972
Jason King
1971
The Road Builder
1971
as Mrs. Palafox
All the Right Noises
1970
as Mrs. Bird
Fragment of Fear
1970
as Miss Ward-Cadbury
Manhunt
1970
as Denise
On the Buses
1969
Twenty-Nine
1969
as The prostitute
Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar
1968
Charlie Bubbles
1968
as Woman in Cafe
Luther
1968
as Katharine Luther
Our Mother's House
1967
as Mrs. Quayle
Cop-Out
1967
as Shooting Range Girl
A Man for All Seasons
1966
as Averil Machin
Kaleidoscope
1966
as Museum Receptionist
Catch Us If You Can
1965
as Nan
Fanatic
1965
as Anna
The Pumpkin Eater
1964
as Woman at Hairdresser's
A Place to Go
1963
as Bit Role (uncredited)
Sparrows Can't Sing
1963
as Barmaid
The Saint
1962
as Milanov
The Fishing Match
1962
as Cissy
Corrigan Blake
1962
The Avengers
1961
as Miss Lister
No Hiding Place
1959