Brigit Forsyth


Brigit Dorothea Mills, better known by her stage name Brigit Forsyth, was a British actress from Malton, England, best known for her roles as Thelma Ferris in the BBC sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? and Helen Yeldham in the ITV drama Boon. From 2013 to 2019, Forsyth appeared in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours.

Early life

Forsyth was born as Brigit Dorothea Connell, on 28 July 1940 in Malton, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Her grandfather was a doctor in the town and delivered her. Her mother, Anne was a painter, and her father, Frank James Connell, an architect and town planner in Edinburgh. After leaving St George's School for Girls in Edinburgh, Forsyth trained as a secretary before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she won the Emile Littler Award.

Career

Forsyth began her professional career in Edinburgh with the Gateway Theatre Company. She then moved to the Theatre Royal, Lincoln, and in 1962 to the Arthur Brough Players in Folkestone. On her return to Lincoln, she changed her professional name to Forsyth. Her film career began with the Roald Dahl-scripted The Night Digger, playing a district nurse. Her film work also included a version of The Likely Lads as Thelma Ferris.
Forsyth played the cello from the age of nine, but abandoned it once she went to drama school; her ability was employed when, in 2004, she was cast in the lead role in Cello and the Nightingale, a play about internationally known cellist Beatrice Harrison that premiered at York Theatre Royal and in Killing Time, an off-Broadway production in which she played the instrument and wrote the music.
Forsyth's best-known television work was Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? as Thelma Chambers / Thelma Ferris. She also appeared in The Glamour Girls as Veronica Haslett; Tom, Dick and Harriet as Harriet Maddison, The Practice as Dr. Judith Vincent, Sharon and Elsie as Elsie Beecroft, Playing the Field as Francine Pratt, and Boon as Helen Yeldham. She guest-starred in a number of other television shows such as The Bill, Doctor Who, Agatha Christie's Poirot and Coronation Street.
In 1997 she appeared in a one-off sketch as the party host, in Harry Enfield & Chums, in which Enfield parodies both ex-Democratic Unionist Party leader Rev Ian Paisley and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams at a house party.
In 2002, Forsyth was the subject of This Is Your Life when she was surprised by Michael Aspel at Broadcasting House. Forsyth appeared in the 2013 Christmas special of Still Open All Hours and returned for a full series on 26 December 2014 as Madge, sister of Maggie Ollerenshaw's character Mavis. In 2003 she made her first appearance at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in their production of High Society, directed by Ian Talbot.
In 2013, Forsyth appeared as Mrs. Jennings in Helen Edmundson's BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and as the recurring character of Pearl in Ed Reardon's Week.
Her stage work included Humble Boy in 2003 Calendar Girls in 2008 and Alan Bennett's People in 2013. She had previously appeared in a Radio 4 production of Bennett's Single Spies in which she played the part of Coral Browne. In 2015, she appeared in Now This is Not the End at the Arcola Theatre in London.

Personal life and death

Forsyth was married to television director Brian Mills from 1975, until his death in 2006, although they had separated in 1999. They had two children.
Forsyth died on 1 December 2023, at the age of 83.

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected.
YearTitleRoleNotes
1967Doctor WhoRuth MaxtibleEpisode: "The Evil of the Daleks"
1973–1974Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?Thelma21 episodes
1980–1982The Glamour GirlsVeronica HaslettAll 13 episodes
1981–1982Holding the FortAnnabel Chesterton2 episodes
1982–1983Tom, Dick and HarrietHarriet MaddisonAll 12 episodes
1982The Two RonniesYvonneEpisode: "1982 Christmas Special"
1984–1985Sharon and ElsieElsie BeecroftAll 12 episodes
1985–1986The PracticeDr. Judith Vincent46 episodes
1989Agatha Christie's PoirotErnestine ToddEpisode: "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook"
1989Running WildJenny7 episodes
1989BoonHelen Yeldham13 episodes
1991Dark SeasonMiss MaitlandAll 6 episodes
1997SparkMrs. Wells5 episodes
1998Coronation StreetBabs FanshaweEpisode 4370
1998HeartbeatElsie HarrisEpisode: "Snake in the Grass"
1998–2002Playing the FieldFrancine Pratt22 episodes
2000DoctorsPenny LattimerEpisode: "Twice Blessed"
2002The BillJoanna Sulman2 episodes
2005Down to EarthSylvia Cosgrove2 episodes
2005–2006EmmerdaleDelphine LaClair4 episodes
2006The OutsidersEnidTV film
2006DoctorsPauline Hasland5 episodes
2007HeartbeatEllen TaylorEpisode: "Vendetta"
2007The StreetBiopsy DoctorEpisode: "Old Flame"
2007JinxDaphneEpisode: "Pilot"
2008Waterloo RoadSusan WildingEpisode: #3.15
2008The Royal TodayShona KellyEpisode: #1.30
2008Midsomer MurdersEstelle BalliolEpisode: "The Magician's Nephew"
2012Mount PleasantMarieEpisode #2.4
2012DoctorsSister VincentEpisode: "Wide of the Mark"
2013EastEnders: Dorothy Branning - The Next ChapterLucinda BlakeTV film
2013–2019Still Open All HoursMadgeAll 41 episodes
2013HollyoaksCressida3 episodes
2016RoversMarilyn2 episodes
2016Holby CityValerie Sturgeon2 episodes
2017UnforgottenAnne BarlingEpisode: #2.4