The family of Dame Penelope Keith have announced that the actress died today (Monday, June 29) at the age of 86 at her home in Surrey after a battle with cancer.
She initially acted on stage as part of the Royal Shakespeare Comany and won an Olivier Award for her performance in Donkeys’ Years in 1976.
Fame followed thanks to her roles in two hugely popular sitcoms, starring as Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life (for which she won a BAFTA) and as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born.
Other notable television shows included in The Norman Conquests, for which she won a second BAFTA, Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady and Next of Kin (1995–1997.
She returned to the theatre in the 2000s, receiving critical acclaim for playing Madam Arcati in Blithe Spirit and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Her acting career, and her wide-ranging charity work including succeeding Lord Olivier as president of the Actors's Benevolent Fund, saw her appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours.
Here are 15 memorable quotes from the actress over the years.
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1. Penelope Keith on...Scotland
"I'm a bit of a Scotophile. I have a house on the Black Isle, so I'm in Scotland quite a lot and think Edinburgh is just the most beautiful city." | Getty Images
2. Penelope Keith on...language
"Language is my bugbear. Everyone says things now like 'I was sat' instead of 'I was sitting', which just sounds so ugly." | Getty Images
3. Penelope Keith on...growing older
"Older people, who just happen to have been around longer, may not be cleverer than the young, but they have seen more." | Getty Images
4. Penelope Keith on...theatre etiquette
"We always had chocolates and my mother was careful to make sure they were unwrapped in advance so the paper wouldn't rustle in the middle of a performance." | Getty Images