Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

films and television programmes.

Life and career

Jenkins was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

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 ...

, the daughter of a construction engineer. She originally trained to be a ballet dancer. Although born in England, she often played Welsh characters. She made her noticeable film debut in '' Millions Like Us'' (1943) as the Welsh room-mate and confidante of the main character (played by Patricia Roc). She went on to appear in such films as ''

Green for Danger ''Green for Danger'' is a popular 1944 detective fiction, detective novel by British writer Christianna Brand, praised for its clever plot, interesting characters, and wartime hospital setting. It was made into a Green for Danger (film), 1946 ...

'' (1946), '' The History of Mr. Polly'' (1949), '' The Cruel Sea'' (1953), and ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' (1968). She played the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, in two adaptations of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 gothic horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' from January 27 to April 16, 1898. On October 7, 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', publis ...

'': the film '' The Innocents'' (1961) and a 1974 television adaptation. She also frequently played comedic roles, and in later life was a regular in the sitcom '' Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'', and the children's series ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

''. From 1933, Jenkins also had a long stage career, and appeared in several plays by

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintshi ...

including '' The Light of Heart'' in 1940. In 1952 she appeared in the comedy play ''

The Gay Dog ''The Gay Dog'' is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Wilfred Pickles, Petula Clark and Megs Jenkins. The screen-play was by Peter Rogers based on the 1952 play of the same title by Joseph Colton; also starring P ...

'' in the West End and reprised her role in the 1954 film version. In 1953 she appeared in the long-running ''

A Day by the Sea ''A Day by the Sea'' is a 1953 play by the British writer N. C. Hunter, first produced in 1953. First productions After premiering at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool on 26 October 1953 the play toured to Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh bef ...

'' by N.C. Hunter. In 1956, she won the

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 ...

for Best Supporting performance in

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with '' A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, ...

''. Megs Jenkins's 1943 marriage to George Routledge, a commando who had been a childhood classmate, and who renewed their acquaintance when he saw her name in a review, ended in divorce in 1959.

Filmography

Film

Television

* '' Jenny Meade'' (1951, TV film) * '' Dark Summer'' (1951, TV film) * '' The Human Jungle'' (1964, Episode, "Conscience on a Rack") – Dr Murphy * ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series that was made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, following the 1958 film, '' Gideon's Day''. The film and series are based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. ...

'' (1965, Episode, "The Wall") – Landlord's wife * '' Weavers Green'' (1966, TV serial) * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1969, TV film) * '' Ben Travers' Farces'' (1970, 3 episodes) * ''

The Befrienders ''The Befrienders'' is an 11-episode British television drama series which aired on BBC1 in 1972. The series was based on the work of the Samaritans, the suicide prevention charity founded in 1953 by the Reverend Chad Varah. Each episode depicte ...

'' (1970, TV film) – Janet * ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...

'' (1973, TV Serial) – Mrs. Fairfax * '' Orson Welles Great Mysteries'' (1973, TV series, Series 1, episode 11: 'The Monkey's Paw') - Mrs. White * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'' (1974, Episode, "Vermin") – Dr. Bridget Walker * ''

'' (1974, TV film) – Mrs. Grose * '' Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' (1976–77) – Mrs Froggitt * ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'' (1979–80) Mrs Braithwaite * '' Young at Heart'' (1980–1982, TV sitcom) – Ethel Collyer * '' A Woman of Substance'' (1985 TV film) – Mrs. Turner

References

External links

* *
Stage performances on the Theatre Archive, University of Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Megs 1917 births 1998 deaths English film actresses English television actresses Actresses from Birkenhead 20th-century English actresses