Janet Key (10 July 1945 – 26 July 1992) was an English actress with a varied career in theatre, film and television from the late 1960s until her death.

Career

Key was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, and trained at the nearby

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

. Her stage career included stints with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, alongside touring and

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

productions. Between 1970 and 1975 Key appeared in four horror films, as well as the sex comedy '' Percy'' and the historical drama ''

Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for '' Glenarvon'', a Gothic novel. In 1812 she had an affair with Lord Byron, whom she described as "mad, bad, ...

''. Her only other cinema appearance came later in ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...

'', although she also featured in several made-for-TV dramas, including the role of Charmian in the

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

production of ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' ( First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in arou ...

'' for the ambitious ''

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...

'' project. Key became a familiar face on British television through many guest appearances in a wide variety of popular series ranging from crime and espionage through to comedy.

Personal life

Key married actor

Gawn Grainger Gawn Grainger (born 12 October 1937) is a British actor, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Some sources indicate he was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 12 October 1937. He is the son of Charles Neil Grainger and his wife Elizabeth (née Gal ...

in 1970. The couple had two children. Key died of cancer on 26 July 1992, aged 47. In 1994, Grainger married actress Zoë Wanamaker, who had been an acquaintance of Key's."Hogwarts and all"
Kellaway, Kate. ''The Observer'', 11 March 2001. ''Retrieved 4 October 2010'' An obituary by Sebastian Graham-Jones in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' said: "Janet Key was an actress of particular versatility. She was a high-spirited beauty with an acerbic style and talent that were entirely her own."Obituary: Janet Key
Graham-Jones, Sebastian. ''The Independent'', 30 July 1992. ''Retrieved 4 October 2010''

Filmography

*1970: '' The Vampire Lovers'' – Gretchin *1971: '' Percy'' – Hazel Anthony *1972: '' Dracula A.D. 1972'' – Anna *1972: ''

'' – Miss Fairfax *1973: '' And Now the Screaming Starts!'' – Bridget *1975: '' I Don't Want to Be Born'' – Jill Fletcher *1984: ''

'' – The Instructress

Television appearances

*1967–1968: ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' – Honeymoon wife / Rosalind *1968: '' The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' – Millicent Hargrave *1969: '' Department S'' – Jean *1970: '' Paul Temple'' – Christi *1972: '' The Adventurer'' – Virginia *1972: '' Jason King'' – Elaine *1972: '' Man at the Top'' – Dr. Helen Reid *1973: ''

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London, Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the s ...

'' – Jean Rossen *1973: ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' – Lisa *1974: ''

Napoleon and Love ''Napoleon and Love'' is a 1974 British television series originally aired on ITV and lasting for 9 episodes from 5 March to 30 April 1974. The series stars Ian Holm in the title role as Napoleon and depicts his relationships with the women wh ...

'' – Louise Compoint *1974: ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, us ...

'' – Carla *1974: ''

Sutherland's Law ''Sutherland's Law'' is a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme ''Drama Playhouse'' in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and w ...

'' – Julie McKenna *1975: ''

State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

'' – Jane Frederick *1975: ''

The Sweeney ''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...

'' – Kate Regan *1976: '' The Crezz'' – Brenda Pitman *1979: '' Shoestring'' – Val Colefax *1980: ''

The Enigma Files ''The Enigma Files'' is a British television police procedural that ran for one series of fifteen episodes in 1980. Plot summary The series was a police procedural, written by Derek Ingrey, about a police officer who has been sidelined from reg ...

'' – Pam Knowland *1980: '' Minder'' – Gloria Brompton *1981: ''

'' – Charmian *1983: ''

No Problem! ''No Problem!'' is a Channel 4 sitcom that ran from 1983 to 1985, created by the Black Theatre Co-operative. The show was written by Farrukh Dhondy and Mustapha Matura, from the Black Theatre Co-operative. Twenty-seven episodes were broadcast of ...

'' – Kay Angel *1986: ''

Never the Twain ''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer ...

'' – Charlotte *1986: ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September ...

'' – Joyce Meacher *1988: '' Worlds Beyond'' – Lady Lucinda *1990: '' Making News'' – Rowena Lyle

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Janet 1945 births 1992 deaths 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Somerset Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Deaths from cancer in England English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses People from Bath, Somerset