Jean Boht (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Dance; 6 March 1932 – 12 September 2023) was an English actress, most famous for the role of Nellie Boswell in Carla Lane's

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

'', one of several actors to remain with the show for its entire seven series tenure from 1986 to 1991.

Early life

Boht was born as Jean Dance on 6 March 1932 in

Bebington Bebington () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Cheshire, it is south of Liverpool, close to the River Mersey on the eastern side of the Wirral Peninsula ...

, then in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, to Thomas Dance, a confectionery importer and chief entertainment officer of the local fire brigade, and pianist Edna May "Teddy", née Macdonald. She was educated at

Wirral Grammar School for Girls Wirral Grammar School for Girls is an all-girls grammar school on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. Admissions It is located in Bebington, next door to Wirral Grammar School for Boys. The school consists of lower school (ages 11– ...

Career

Boht trained at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actre ...

, where she started her career as a theatre actress, before touring the United Kingdom in stage roles, working in numerous

West End Theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

s including the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

and the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. In a career spanning from 1962 to 2018, she appeared largely in television productions. These included guesting parts in television spots '' Softly, Softly'' (1971), ''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen (scriptwriter), Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, inc ...

'' (1978), ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'' (1978), ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

'' (1978), ''

Boys from the Blackstuff ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' is a five episode British drama television series, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a television pl ...

'' (1982), '' Scully'' (1984) and ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC One, BBC1. The theme of the series concerned ...

'' in the mid-1980s. It was through her regular role in the sitcom ''

'' (1986–91), as matriarch Nellie Boswell, that Boht found her largest audience, with the series attracting some 20 million viewers. In 1989, Boht was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'', and in 2008 she made a guest appearance in BBC One's

daytime TV Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning ...

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

, ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. Boht starred in '' The Brighton Belles'', an unsuccessful British adaptation of the American sitcom ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'' as the character of Josephine, based on Sophia Petrillo, the part made famous by Estelle Getty. On stage, Boht appeared with

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...

in ''Embers'' (2006) at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Boht also appeared in the film '' Mothers and Daughters'' (2004), and starred in Chris Shepherd's award-winning

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

'' Bad Night for the Blues'' (2010).

Personal life, illness and death

Commemorative paving stone to Teddy Dance

Her first marriage to William Boht ended in divorce. She married the American-British conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Carl Davis Carl Davis (October 28, 1936 – August 3, 2023) was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes, notably the landmark ITV series '' The World at War'' (1973) and BBC's '' Pride and P ...

on 28 December 1970. They had two daughters, filmmakers Hannah (born 1972) and Jessie (born 1974). Boht and Davis were executive producers on Hannah Davis's film '' The Understudy'' and they appeared in the film as a married couple. Davis died on 3 August 2023, just six weeks before Boht herself. Boht was diagnosed with

vascular dementia Vascular dementia is dementia caused by a series of strokes. Restricted blood flow due to strokes reduces oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain, causing cell injury and neurological deficits in the affected region. Subtypes of vascular dement ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. She was a resident at

Denville Hall Denville Hall is a historic building in Northwood, a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, which is used as a retirement home for professional actors, actresses and members of other theatrical professions. The present building in ...

, a retirement home in Northwood, London, for actors and other members of the entertainment industry. Boht died from complications of dementia on 12 September 2023, aged 91.

Awards

Boht won a

British Comedy Award The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

(now known as the "National Comedy Awards") for Best Comedy Actress in 1990.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boht, Jean 1932 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actors from Bebington Actresses from Cheshire Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from vascular dementia English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses People educated at Wirral Grammar School for Girls