Unearthing the real Penelope Keith

Think of Penelope Keith and what immediately springs to mind?

Probably The Good Life’s Margo Leadbetter and Audrey Forbes-Hamilton from To the Manor Born, unforgettable characters from two of the biggest sitcoms ever made by the BBC. They turned this once jobbing actor into a household name, and the nature of them – both were strong, opinionated women with a strong sense of their place in the world – has made them unforgettable.

Keith has, of course, played many other characters on stage and screen during a career that has lasted, so far, around 60 years, and we’ll get to see clips from them during this documentary, the latest in a series profiling some of Britain’s best-loved stars.

Born in Sutton, Surrey, in 1940, she was sent to boarding school at the age of six, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed.

“I was an only child and my mother was divorced and therefore I was part of a single-parent family,” she once explained.

“Consequently, boarding school fulfilled the need I had for a family really and I saw my mother in the holidays. She was wonderful and I adored her.

“With hindsight you could think ‘Oh yes, I probably missed this, this and this,’ but on the other hand people who haven’t ever gone away to boarding school probably feel they’re missing something too.”

Her beloved grandmother was also a major figure in her formative years: “I adored my grandmother. She was a remarkable woman. I vividly remember her looking at a table and thinking it was too high, so she used her apron to measure the legs and put a pencil mark on each of them, and then got out a saw to cut them down — and it was absolutely perfect. I thought, ‘Grandma can do anything’.”

It was perhaps the presence of such strong women in her life – as well as her height of 5ft 10 – which led her to be cast as Margo and Audrey. Although, as we find out during this programme, the real Penelope Keith is nothing like them; co-stars such as Felicity Kendal and Judy Cornwell describe her as a giggly, joke-loving colleague (she once famously appeared alongside Morecambe & Wise) who is warm-hearted with a nurturing personality.

And away from the bright lights of showbiz, she’s certainly far more down to earth.

“Don’t get me started on gardening,” she claims. “I could bore for the world about gardening!”

“Gardening is the most wonderful hobby. I enjoy everything about it. I like getting dirty, I like planting. I like reading about it. I like planning and just sitting back and watching it.”

That’s certainly a world away from Margo, who often looked ill at ease in the back garden allotment of her self-sufficient neighbours.

These days, the 82-year-old star is more likely to be found on stage than in a sitcom, but would never say never again: “I’ve been very lucky, I’ve done so many different things. I rather like whatever comes up next, as long as it’s different and interesting.”

Fingers crossed she’ll be back on our screens soon, perhaps even creating another memorable character we’ll be enjoying for decades to come.