Jean Fergusson (30 December 1944 – 14 November 2019) was a British television and theatre

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, who was best known for playing the part of

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

on the British situation comedy ''

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 ...

'' from 1985 until it was cancelled in 2010, and her several guest roles in the soap ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''.

Early life

Fergusson was born in the village of Woolley, near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, to Margaret (née Jackson) and Francis Fergusson, a civil engineer. They moved several times between

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

before settling in

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

in 1956 where Fergusson attended Bridgend Girls' Grammar School. While studying for her A-levels, she joined an amateur dramatics company, the Bridgend Castle Players, then trained as an actor at Cardiff College of Music and Drama (now the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama) and graduated in 1965.

Career

After touring schools with Brian Way’s Theatre Centre company, she spent two years in rep at Oldham Coliseum, followed by engagements in theatres all over the country. In 1974, Fergusson made her television debut with a few episodes in popular soap '' Crossroads'' playing Caroline Herbert, an old girlfriend of main character Roy Mollison, and appeared as Mrs Tremayne, a colonel’s wife, in an episode of '' All Creatures Great and Small'' four years later in 1978. In theatre, she appeared in the stage show of popular long running

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 ...

'' in the 1984 summer season, playing Marina, an ageing blonde bombshell complete with peroxide blonde hair, false eyelashes and short skirt. The character was so popular with audiences that Marina was written into the television series, and she made her first appearance in 1985, and continued to play the character in every episode until the show's cancellation in 2010, appearing in a total of 216 episodes. Fergusson's show ''She Knows You Know!'', in which she portrayed the

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

Hylda Baker Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ' ...

, performed at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

, was nominated for a 1998

Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for Best Entertainment of the 1997 season, and she was part of the cast of the touring play '' Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners''. After ''Last of the Summer Wine'' ended, Fergusson appeared in several television series, including '' This is England '86'' and three episodes of ''

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 ...

''. In 2010 she took on the role of Dorothy Hoyle in ''

'', having previously played Gary Mallet's mother in 1999 and Dr Lowther's sister-in-law Helen Ashcroft in 1987. She reappeared in 2011, and was part of a large kidnapping storyline involving her husband Alan,

John Stape John Stape is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Graeme Hawley. He made his first on-screen appearance during the episode airing on 6 May 2007. The character departed on 3 June 2011 after four years on ...

and Chesney Battersby-Brown.

Personal life

Fergusson lived in Yorkshire until 2014, when she moved to London. She died at her home on 14 November 2019. Her partner of 30 years, Paul Jenkinson died in 2011.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview with Jean Fergusson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Jean 1944 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama English television actresses Actresses from Wakefield English soap opera actresses