Tributes paid to ‘comic genius’ Penelope Keith after her death aged 86

Tributes have been paid to actress Dame Penelope Keith, best known for her roles in the classic 1970s British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born, following her death at the age of 86.

In a statement, her family said on Monday that she “died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey”.

Felicity Kendal, her co-star in The Good Life, remembered her as a “comic genius” who was “a joy to know and work with”.

Dame Penelope famously played snobbish suburban neighbour Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life, as well as the widowed aristocrat Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born.

The statement released on behalf of her family said: “We are deeply saddened to announce that Dame Penelope Keith died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home in Surrey where she had lived for more than 50 years.

“The family is grateful for the care and support she received throughout her treatments, and ask that their privacy be respected at this time.”

In her tribute, Kendal said: “I am deeply saddened to hear of my friend Penelope’s death.

“The shows I worked on with her were such special times in our lives and demonstrated her comic genius.

“My heart goes out to her beloved Rodney at this time, theirs was a great love story and partnership. She was a joy to know and work with, and she will be much missed.”

Others paying tribute included comedian and presenter Sue Perkins, who praised her on Instagram for having been the “creator of some of the greatest sit com characters of all time”.

Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth remembered Dame Penelope as “such a special lady – a wonderful actress, a real friend, so funny, so generous with the time she gave to good causes”. He added: “Hers was indeed a good life.”

Former culture secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt posted: “Incredibly sad to hear of the passing of Dame Penelope Keith CBE. She was a neighbour and friend where she was dearly loved by all who knew her in Milford.

“She helped Britain laugh at itself, one of our best national qualities, and brought happiness to millions. RIP dear Penny.”

Also paying tribute, novelist Lissa Evans noted the marked difference between Dame Penelope’s characters and her real personality.

“Margo Leadbetter was snobbish, humourless and entitled, and Penelope Keith managed to make her into one of the most adored (and oddly vulnerable) characters ever seen on a sitcom,” Evans posted.

“She delivered every line as if it were a jewelled crown on a velvet cushion. An utter genius.”

Dame Janet Suzman worked with Dame Penelope at the Royal Shakespeare Company when they were both young, and later on the 1981 film Priest of Love.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World at One, she said her friend and colleague became “like a comedy Mount Rushmore” and was “enormous fun to work with”.

“Those ice pick consonants of hers, that tremendous self-assurance in her character. It’s just so transporting… Wonderful actress.”

The Surrey-born actress joined the Royal Shakespeare company in 1963 and went on to win an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976, for her role in the play Donkey’s Years.

But she became a household name playing Margo in The Good Life from 1975, winning the Bafta TV award for best light entertainment performance in 1977.

The show followed Tom and Barbara Good, played by Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal, in their attempts to become self-sufficient by turning their suburban garden into an allotment and keeping animals – much to Margo’s horror.

The show was voted one of the UK’s top 10 sitcoms of all-time in a 2004 BBC poll.

The actress followed that by playing aristocrat Audrey, who was forced to sell her country estate following the death of her husband in To the Manor Born.

The last episode of the first series in 1979 received almost 24 million viewers – the highest audience for any non-live event on British TV in the 70s.

Dame Penelope won another Bafta TV award soon after, this time for best actress for The Norman Conquests and Saving It For Albie.

Her other sitcom credits in the 1980s and 90s included Executive Stress, set in a publishing house; No Job for a Lady, playing a Labour MP; Moving, about a couple selling their house; Law and Disorder, in which she played a barrister; and Next of Kin, which saw children move in with their grandparents.

The much-loved actress succeeded Laurence Olivier as president of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund after his death in 1989.

This century, working largely in theatre, she played Madame Arcati in a 2004 production of Blithe Spirit and Lady Bracknell in a 2007 version of The Importance of Being Earnest.

The actress was a made a dame in 2014 for services to the arts and charity.

London’s West End theatres will dim their lights in her memory on Wednesday.

Claire Walker, co-chief executive of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, said: “We are proud to come together as an industry and honour the life and extraordinarily prolific career of Dame Penelope Keith, who will undoubtedly be remembered for many years to come as one of this country’s most venerated actors.

“We offer condolences to her loved ones and all who knew her.”

A “classic episode” of The Good Life will be shown on BBC Two at 19:00 BST on Monday in tribute, the BBC said.

The BBC’s director of comedy Jon Petrie described Dame Penelope as “one of the defining figures of British television comedy”.

“Her iconic performance as Margo in The Good Life remains one of the nation’s most beloved sitcom roles and continues to delight audiences today,” he said.