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Margaret Mary Foster (30 September 1936 – 1 July 2023), better known as Meg Johnson, was an English actress. Over a career spanning almost six decades, she became known for her soap opera roles as Eunice Gee in ''
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 ...
'', Brigid McKenna in ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...
'', and Pearl Ladderbanks in ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
''. She also appeared in musicals including ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' and ''
Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...
''.


Early life

Johnson was born Margaret Mary Green in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on 30 September 1936 to Eleanor (''née'' James), a former bus conductor, and Stan Green, a brewery foreman. Johnson was evacuated to
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and made her stage debut there, aged six, singing and dancing at the Grand theatre. After developing asthma, she began singing lessons to improve her breathing.


Career

Johnson's first professional acting role came in May 1961, when she was 24, in a television series titled ''Here's Harry''. She continued in the show until 1964. Subsequent roles included ''Family Solicitor'' (1961) and ''The Referees'' (1961). Johnson first appeared in a few episodes of the ITV television soap opera ''
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 ...
'' in 1972 as a tipsy woman and in 1976 as Brenda Holden, before being cast as Eunice Gee in 1981, a role she would play with recurring appearances until 1999. In the 1980s, Johnson worked with
Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...
, appearing in several episodes of her shows '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'', as well as '' Victoria Wood Presents''. In 1997, Johnson appeared in the
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, ...
revival of ''
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
'' as Mama Morton. She also appeared in theatre productions of ''
Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...
'' and ''
Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
''. From 2000 to 2003, Johnson appeared in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
soap opera ''
Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Bro ...
'' as Brigid McKenna until the soap's cancellation. Later in 2003, Johnson was cast as Pearl Ladderbanks in the ITV soap opera ''
Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...
'', although due to the number of episodes per week of ''Brookside'' being reduced in its later months, her last appearances as Brigid aired after she had already been seen on screen as Pearl. Johnson played the role of Pearl until March 2020.


Personal life

In 1956, Johnson married Hibbert Johnson. The marriage produced a son and a daughter, but later ended in divorce. Johnson was married to English actor and
ITV Granada ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...
presenter Charles Foster from 1981 until his death on 23 February 2023.


Death

Johnson died at a care home in
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
called the Willows on 1 July 2023, aged 86. In a statement, her family said that she "had
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless". ''Emmerdale'' paid tribute to her on its social media accounts, describing Johnson as "a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye" and added that she would be "greatly missed by everyone who knew her".


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Meg 1936 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Manchester Deaths from dementia in England English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses