"a programme to feature Keith. Thinking of Keith's character in ""The Good Life"", Spence had the idea of an upper-class version of Margo Leadbetter and, from the account from the comedian, came up with Audrey fforbes-Hamilton. Instead of a Cockney comedian as the new owner of the manor, Spence decided on an American who sees the manor while in England looking for his roots. The American later discovers he is descended from the fforbes-Hamiltons. This was made into a radio pilot in 1976 with Bernard Braden as the American, but was never broadcast because of the interest to make it"
"Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress, active in all genres, including radio, stage, television and film and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms ""The Good Life"" and ""To the Manor Born"". She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors' Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989, and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the arts and to charity. Keith joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963, and went on to"
"New Year Honours, and was promoted to a Commander (CBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for ""charitable services"". In the 2014 New Year Honours, she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the Arts and to Charity. Penelope Keith Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress, active in all genres, including radio, stage, television and film and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms ""The Good Life"" and ""To the Manor Born"". She succeeded Lord Olivier as president of the Actors'"
"To the Manor Born To the Manor Born is a BBC television 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 final episode in 1981 was written by Christopher Bond, the script associate. The title is a play on the phrase ""to the manner born,"" from Shakespeare's ""Hamlet"" (""Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the"
"on 15 June 2004. To the Manor Born To the Manor Born is a BBC television 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 final episode in 1981 was written by Christopher Bond, the script associate. The title is a play on the phrase ""to the manner born,"" from Shakespeare's ""Hamlet"" (""Though I am a native here and to the manner born, it is a custom more honoured in"
"later starred opposite Penelope Keith in ""To the Manor Born"". Hannah Gordon was considered for the role of Barbara but ruled out, having recently played a similar role in the BBC sitcom ""My Wife Next Door"". Esmonde and Larbey chose Felicity Kendal and Penelope Keith after seeing them on stage together in ""The Norman Conquests"". Outdoor filming took place in the North London suburb of Northwood, although the series was set in Surbiton, southwest London. The producers searched extensively for a suitable pair of houses, eventually chancing on Kewferry Road, Northwood (Google street view , the Leadbetters' house to the"
"naval history, including being the home of Admiral Lord Rodney, and later Alexander Hood, second in command of the English Channel fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. Within the grounds lies the 12th-century parish church of St. Thomas, featuring the brocade cloth which adorned the Coronation altar in 1953. Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton were regular visitors and the estate of Cricket St Thomas was used as the location for the filming of BBC TV sitcom 'To The Manor Born', starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles. Littlecote House Hotel in Berkshire is a Grade I-listed Tudor property with 113 acres of"
"lead role in ""Dinnerladies"", as well as lead roles in ""Kingdom"" and ""After You've Gone"". The 2007 Christmas special features four of the original cast members: Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne, and Gerald Sim. New characters include Alexander Armstrong as Adam fforbes-Hamilton, Audrey's nephew-by-marriage and godson; Alan David as Emmeridge, Audrey and Richard's outspoken butler; and Michael Cochrane as Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner. While the Rector makes only a brief appearance, the other three original characters are main characters throughout and are credited in the opening credits. ""To the Manor Born"" is set in the fictional village of"
"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 presented the four-part BBC documentary ""The Manor Reborn"" in 2011. Since 2014, she has presented all three series of the More4/Channel 4 programme ""Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages"", and in June 2016 she presented ""Penelope Keith at Her Majesty's Service"" again for Channel 4. In December 2017, she presented ""Penelope Keith's Coastal Villages"", a continuation of"
"Marjory followed soon after. The first episode aired on 30 September 1979, a year after Keith had played Margo Leadbetter for the last time in ""The Good Life"". ""To the Manor Born"" was filmed on location in Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, and in Studio TC1 at the BBC Television Centre, London. The Manor, Cricket House, was at the time of the original series owned by the father-in-law of Peter Spence, the show's creator and writer. Some interior scenes were also filmed inside Cricket House. The Old Lodge, which on screen was at the end of the Manor's drive, is in"
"and Audrey's godson, who has recently moved to Grantleigh to learn how to run an estate; and Archie Pennington-Booth, a neighbouring landowner driven to bankruptcy by ""Farmer Tom"". Marjory lives in the Old Lodge, and she develops a crush on Adam. A small acknowledgement of Bertie and Brabinger appears in the special, consisting of a photo of Brabinger and a small beagle statuette on a side table. Richard's mother, aka ""Mrs. Poo,"" is acknowledged by a marble headstone in the church graveyard and a framed photograph on the mantel of the manor's sitting room. ""To the Manor Born"" ran for"
"Angela Thorne Angela Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in ""To the Manor Born"", as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as Margaret Thatcher in ""Anyone for Denis?"" Angela Thorne was born in Karachi, British India, in 1939. The daughter of an Indian Army doctor father, William Herbert Alfred Thorne, and a teacher mother, Sylvia (Leslie), she spent the first five years of her life in India. She was later a pupil at Farlington School in Horsham, West Sussex. She trained for the stage"
"garden house known as The Admirals Seat. The house was used as ""Grantleigh Manor"", the setting for the television series ""To the Manor Born"" which aired from 1979 to 1981. The Manor House was then owned by the father-in-law of the writer Peter Spence. Despite the closeness depicted on screen, the Manor and Lodge are in fact about one mile (1.6 km) apart. The Lodge was given additional features such as gateposts to give the impression it was a gatehouse, following various previous alterations. The house was again used as ""Grantleigh Manor"" in a 25th anniversary special of ""To The"
"actress Deidre Brenner, from 1967 until her death in 1999. In his later years. Sim lived in Denville Hall, the same north London care home for entertainers as his sister and brother-in-law, who occupied the rooms on either side of him. Sim died on 11 December 2014. Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in ""To the Manor Born"". Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and had nearly 100 film and television appearances, beginning with an uncredited role in"
"Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in ""To the Manor Born"". Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and had nearly 100 film and television appearances, beginning with an uncredited role in the 1947 film ""Fame Is the Spur"". Film and TV roles include ""The L-Shaped Room"" (1962), ""Séance on a Wet Afternoon"" (1964), ""King Rat"" (1965), ""The Avengers"" (1966),""Oh! What a Lovely War"" (1969), ""Ryan's Daughter"" (1970), ""Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde"" (1971), ""Frenzy"" (1972), ""Young Winston"" (1972),"
"middle-class suburban couple who decide to quit the rat race and become self-sufficient, much to the consternation of their snooty but well-meaning neighbour Margo and her down-to-earth husband Jerry Leadbetter (played by Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington). Kendal appeared in all 30 episodes, which extended over four series and two specials from 1975 to 1978. Kendal has said that she can be ""short-tempered and difficult"", in contrast to the generally cheerful, patient and upbeat Barbara, with whom the public have come to associate her. Kendal made her stage debut aged nine months, when she was carried on stage as a"
"- the home of his in-laws. Spence has also written for radio, including ""Roy Castle Show"" and ""Windsor Davies Presents"". Peter Spence Peter Spence (born 24 April 1944) is an English journalist and writer. He is perhaps best known for creating and writing the British sitcom ""To the Manor Born"". Born in 1944, Peter Spence was educated at Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire. At the age of 18, he became a reporter for the ""Birmingham Post and Mail"". Around the same times, he joined the Territorial Army. He studied Politics and American Studies at Nottingham University and graduated in 1968 and became"
"the Manor Born"", she also played the eponymous character in the ITV sitcom ""Farrington of the F.O."" written by Dick Sharples. She appeared in an episode of ""Midsomer Murders"" as well as ""Foyle's War"". In 1989, she voiced the role of Elizabeth II in ""The BFG"", the film adaptation of Roald Dahl's book. Angela Thorne Angela Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in ""To the Manor Born"", as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as Margaret Thatcher in ""Anyone for Denis?"" Angela Thorne was"
"the ""Hidden Villages"" series. In early 2018, she presented the Channel 4 series ""Village of the Year with Penelope Keith"". It was announced in February 2018 that Keith would be starring as Mrs St Maugham in the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Enid Bagnold's ""The Chalk Garden"" from 25 May to 16 June 2018. In 1978, the year ""The Good Life"" ended, she married Rodney Timson, a policeman. They had met while he was on duty at Chichester Theatre where Keith was performing. Timson, who is four years her junior, had been married twice before. They adopted two children. Keith"
"In 1997, 16 years after the original series of ""To the Manor Born"" ended on television, ten 30-minute episodes were recorded for radio, the programme's original intended medium. The episodes, originally aired on Saturdays on BBC Radio 2 from 25 January to 29 March 1997, were written by Peter Spence, six adapted from TV episodes and four new episodes. Keith and Thorne returned as Audrey and Marjory, while Keith Barron replaced Bowles as Richard. Other actors, including Frank Middlemass and Nicholas McArdle, who played Miller in the TV version, replaced many of the by then deceased original television cast members."
"as acting with Penelope Keith in ""To the Manor Born"", he also appeared with her in ""Executive Stress"" and ""No Job for a Lady"". One of most memorable stage performances was in the West End playing Geoffrey in ""Stepping Out"" by Richard Harris. His final stage appearance was in ""The Lady in the Van"" by Alan Bennett, opposite Dame Maggie Smith. His final TV appearance was in the 2002 drama ""Ready"". He died in Surrey in 2003 aged 66. His son Jonathan Aris followed him into acting. Ben Aris Benjamin Patrick Aris (16 March 1937 – 4 September 2003) was"
"Daphne Heard Delia Phyllis Daphne Heard (1 August 1904 – 22 June 1983) was an English actress and acting teacher. She was born in Plymouth, Devon. She was perhaps best known in latter years as Richard's elderly mother Mrs Polouvicka in ""To the Manor Born"". Her film credits include roles in ""Goodbye Gemini"" (1970), the film version of ""Please Sir!"" (1971) as an old gypsy, and ""The Triple Echo"" (1972). She also appeared as the nanny in Laurence Olivier's film ""Three Sisters"" (1970) based on Chekhov's play, opposite Joan Plowright, Alan Bates and Olivier himself as Chebutikin. She played in"
"Kathleen Robertson Kathleen Robertson (born July 8, 1973, in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Tina Edison in the Canadian sitcom ""Maniac Mansion"" (1990–1993) and as Clare Arnold in the Fox teen drama series ""Beverly Hills, 90210"" (1994–1997). Robertson also starred in a number of films, and from 2011 to 2012 played the role of Kitty O'Neill in the Starz political drama series ""Boss"". In 2014, Robertson began starring as homicide detective Hildy Mulligan in the TNT series ""Murder in the First"". Robertson was born in Hamilton, Ontario and attended Sherwood Secondary"
"(1990–92) and ""Next of Kin"" (1995–97). Since 2000, she has worked mainly in the theatre, with her roles including Madam Arcati in ""Blithe Spirit"" (2004) and Lady Bracknell in ""The Importance of Being Earnest"" (2007). Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield was born in Sutton in 1940. Her father, an army officer who was a Major by the end of the Second World War, left her mother Connie when Keith was a baby, and she spent her early years in Clacton-on-Sea and Clapham. Her great uncle, John Gurney Nutting, was a partner in the coachbuilding firm of J Gurney Nutting & Co"
"and ""An Officer and a Gentleman"" (1982) as David Keith's mother. She died from multiple strokes and lung cancer on November 6, 2004 in Tarzana, California at the age of 70. Elizabeth Rogers Elizabeth Rogers (born Betty Jayne Rogers, May 18, 1934 – November 6, 2004) was an American actress. Born in Austin, Texas, she played minor characters in thirty-seven episodes of a dozen different prime-time network series, including ""Little House on the Prairie"", ""Bewitched"", ""Gunsmoke"", ""The Waltons"", ""Marcus Welby, M.D."", ""Dragnet 1966"", ""Mannix"", ""Dragnet 1967"", ""Bonanza"", ""The Time Tunnel"", ""Land of the Giants"", ""Dr. Kildare"", and ""Slattery's People"". She"
"gained great viewing figures it really wasn't a patch on the original episodes."" This opinion was reflected in the voting for ""The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2007"", in which the show picked up the title ""The Worst British TV Sitcom Special 2007"". The writer Peter Spence wrote two books that accompanied ""To the Manor Born"". While they were based on the TV episodes, both books did differ with added conversations, changed storylines and the characters being given different personality traits. The first book, published in 1979 by Arrow Books, is entitled ""To the Manor Born"" and is based on the first series"
"alongside Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles (of ""To the Manor Born"") at the Haymarket Theatre in London. Both productions were directed by Sir Peter Hall. Scholey played the lead role of Michelle 'Midge' Lerner in the BBC Three comedy drama ""Personal Affairs"", alongside Laura Aikman, Ruth Negga, and Maimie McCoy. She played Diana Rivers in the 2006 BBC television adaptation of ""Jane Eyre"". She has also appeared in episodes of ""George Gently"", ""EastEnders"", ""Holby City"", and ""Poirot"". Her work on radio drama includes ""All Passion Spent"", ""A Harlot's Progress"" and ""Under Milk Wood"". Scholey was runner-up in the BBC Carleton"
"for Joyce Grenfell, who became a close friend and godmother to Oxenford's daughter. Her best-known role was the voice – """"Are you sitting comfortably ...?"""" – for BBC radio's ""Listen with Mother"" from 1950 to 1971; she was also a reader on the newspaper review programme ""What the Papers Say"" for over thirty years. One of the original cast members of ""Coronation Street"", she played Esther Hayes from 1960 to 1963, 1971 and 1972. She played Mrs. Patterson, the owner of the village shop, in the popular sitcom ""To the Manor Born"". In the seventies and early eighties she was"
"as well as Belgium and the Netherlands. After the success of ""The Good Life"", the four cast members who were little known beforehand were given their own ""vehicles"" commissioned by the then Head of Comedy and producer of ""The Good Life"", John Howard Davies. Keith starred alongside Peter Bowles in ""To the Manor Born"", which broadcast a year after ""The Good Life"" ended. Eddington joined Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds in ""Yes Minister"" and its sequel ""Yes Prime Minister"". Kendal, who had become something of a sex symbol, went on to join Elspet Gray in ""Solo"", and Jane Asher in"
"Ayckbourn's ""Communicating Doors"" at the Savoy Theatre, London She appeared in two episodes of Thames Television's sitcom ""Get Some In!"" in 1976 as Mrs Fairfax, and in one episode of the BBC sitcom ""The Good Life"" in 1977 as Lady Truscott, before appearing as Marjory Frobisher in ""To the Manor Born"" between 1979 and 1981: her husband appeared in two of the later episodes. She reprised this role for both the 10-episode radio series in 1997 and the one-off 2007 Christmas Special on television. She followed this with a lead role in another sitcom, ""Three Up, Two Down"". After ""To"
"Peter Spence Peter Spence (born 24 April 1944) is an English journalist and writer. He is perhaps best known for creating and writing the British sitcom ""To the Manor Born"". Born in 1944, Peter Spence was educated at Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire. At the age of 18, he became a reporter for the ""Birmingham Post and Mail"". Around the same times, he joined the Territorial Army. He studied Politics and American Studies at Nottingham University and graduated in 1968 and became a professional writer in the same year. Peter Spence has written for many television shows including ""Not the Nine O'Clock"
"News"", ""Crackerjack"" and ""Rosemary & Thyme"". In the early-1970s, Peter married into the Taylor family who owned and ran Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park in Somerset. This provided him with a fund of anecdotes which he compiled into a book entitled ""some of our best friends are animals"". A few years later in the mid 1970s he created ""To the Manor Born"", and after a radio pilot was made, the series aired on television from 1979 to 1981. Out of 21 episodes, he wrote 20 of them. The manor shown in the opening credits is in fact Cricket St Thomas"
"he suffered a heart attack. He was absent for several shows after the heart attack but returned in the episode ""The Honours List"". Mr. Rudling died in 1983 from respiratory complications. John Rudling John Rudling (1907–1983) was an English actor active on both stage and screen who was perhaps best known for playing the butler Brabinger in the popular BBC sitcom ""To the Manor Born"". John Rudling was a qualified draughtsman before making his mark as a character actor, beginning with the RSC. He moved on to work at the Players' Theatre, London, before touring with ENSA. He worked in"