Penelope Keith, 86, Dies at Her Home in Surrey

Penelope Keith died at age 86 at her home in Surrey. She died peacefully at her home in Surrey while living with cancer, a family statement released Monday said. The statement noted that Keith had lived in Surrey for more than 50 years.

It thanked medical staff for her care and asked that the family’s privacy be respected. Keith was best known for playing Margo Leadbetter in the sitcom The Good Life, which aired from 1975 to 1978. She also starred as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born.

Variety reported that the season finale of To the Manor Born’s first season drew 24 million viewers. Keith joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963. She received an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1976 for Donkey’s Years.

She won BAFTA TV awards for The Good Life in 1977 and 1978 and for To the Manor Born in 1980, according to Variety. BBC News reported she also won a BAFTA TV Award for best actress for The Norman Conquests. Keith appeared in other series including Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady and Next of Kin.

On stage she played Madame Arcati in a 2004 West End production of Blithe Spirit and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest in 2007. Her film credits include Ghost Story in 1974 and Priest of Love in 1981. BBC News reported she played Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 2013 BBC drama Death Comes to Pemberley.

Keith was made a dame in 2014 for services to the arts and charity. She served as president of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund from 1990 to 2022. BBC News reported she presented Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages and Penelope Keith at Her Majesty’s Service.

A rose was named after her in 1984. She was president of the South West Surrey chapter of the National Trust until her death and a trustee of Brooklands Museum. Keith was born in Surrey in 1940 and married Rodney Timson in 1978.