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.

Known For: Acting

Born: Wandsworth, London, England, UK, 1927-08-20

Died: 1980-08-24

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1962	The Fishing Match	Cissy	0
2	1963	Sparrows Can't Sing	Barmaid	53
3	1963	A Place to Go	Bit Role (uncredited)	62
4	1964	The Pumpkin Eater	Woman at Hairdresser's	67
5	1965	Fanatic	Anna	65
6	1965	Catch Us If You Can	Nan	52
7	1966	Kaleidoscope	Museum Receptionist	49
8	1966	A Man for All Seasons	Averil Machin	73
9	1967	Cop-Out	Shooting Range Girl	53
10	1967	Our Mother's House	Mrs. Quayle	71
11	1968	Luther	Katharine Luther	0
12	1968	Charlie Bubbles	Woman in Cafe	63
13	1968	Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar		50
14	1969	Twenty-Nine	The prostitute	45
15	1970	Fragment of Fear	Miss Ward-Cadbury	59
16	1970	All the Right Noises	Mrs. Bird	58
17	1971	The Road Builder	Mrs. Palafox	63
18	1972	Nearest and Dearest	Mrs. Rhoda Rowbottom	66
19	1972	Burke & Hare	Mrs. Hare	52
20	1973	Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width	Mrs. Finch	66
21	1973	Steptoe & Son Ride Again	Freda	67
22	1974	Frankenstein: The True Story	Hospital Matron	75
23	1974	Man About the House	Mildred Roper	48
24	1980	George & Mildred	Mildred Roper	83
25	2023	Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs	Archive Footage	0

No.

Year

Title

Role

Vote Average

1962

The Fishing Match

Cissy

1963

Sparrows Can't Sing

Barmaid

1963

A Place to Go

Bit Role (uncredited)

1964

The Pumpkin Eater

Woman at Hairdresser's

1965

Fanatic

Anna

1965

Catch Us If You Can

Nan

1966

Kaleidoscope

Museum Receptionist

1966

A Man for All Seasons

Averil Machin

1967

Cop-Out

Shooting Range Girl

1967

Our Mother's House

Mrs. Quayle

1968

Luther

Katharine Luther

1968

Charlie Bubbles

Woman in Cafe

1968

Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar

1969

Twenty-Nine

The prostitute

1970

Fragment of Fear

Miss Ward-Cadbury

1970

All the Right Noises

Mrs. Bird

1971

The Road Builder

Mrs. Palafox

1972

Nearest and Dearest

Mrs. Rhoda Rowbottom

1972

Burke & Hare

Mrs. Hare

1973

Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

Mrs. Finch

1973

Steptoe & Son Ride Again

Freda

1974

Frankenstein: The True Story

Hospital Matron

1974

Man About the House

Mildred Roper

1980

George & Mildred

Mildred Roper

2023

Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs

Archive Footage

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1959	No Hiding Place		37
2	1961	The Avengers	Miss Lister	77
3	1962	Corrigan Blake		0
4	1962	The Saint	Milanov	73
5	1964	The Wednesday Play	Rosalind Arnold	45
6	1965	BBC Play of the Month	Mademoiselle Motte	50
7	1969	On the Buses		72
8	1970	Manhunt	Denise	65
9	1970	The Misfit	Pamela	0
10	1971	Jason King		73
11	1973	Seven of One		70
12	1973	Man About the House		71
13	1973	Frankenstein: The True Story	Hospital Matron	85
14	1976	George and Mildred	Mildred Roper	68

No.

Year

Title

Role

Vote Average

1959