Yootha Joyce
Acting • Born 1927-08-20 – Died 1980-08-24
Biography
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" securing her place as a British cultural icon.
Filmography
45 credits
A Man for All Seasons
Movie • 1966
Averil Machin
Our Mother's House
Movie • 1967
Mrs. Quayle
George & Mildred
Movie • 1980
Mildred Roper
Fanatic
Movie • 1965
Anna
Burke & Hare
Movie • 1972
Mrs. Hare
Luther
Movie • 1968
Katharine Luther
Nearest and Dearest
Movie • 1972
Mrs. Rhoda Rowbottom
A Place to Go
Movie • 1963
Bit Role (uncredited)
Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs
Movie • 2023
Archive Footage
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
Movie • 1973
Mrs. Finch
The Road Builder
Movie • 1971
Mrs. Palafox
The Fishing Match
Movie • 1962
Cissy
Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar
Movie • 1968
All the Right Noises
Movie • 1970
Mrs. Bird
The Pumpkin Eater
Movie • 1964
Woman at Hairdresser's
Man About the House
Movie • 1974
Mildred Roper
Kaleidoscope
Movie • 1966
Museum Receptionist
Fragment of Fear
Movie • 1970
Miss Ward-Cadbury
Frankenstein: The True Story
Movie • 1974
Hospital Matron
Charlie Bubbles
Movie • 1968
Woman in Cafe
Stranger in the House
Movie • 1967
Shooting Range Girl
Catch Us If You Can
Movie • 1965
Nan
Steptoe & Son Ride Again
Movie • 1973
Freda
Sparrows Can't Sing
Movie • 1963
Barmaid
Twenty-Nine
Movie • 1969
The Prostitute
Maigret at Bay
Movie • 1969
Mlle. Motte
On the Buses
TV • 1969
George and Mildred
TV • 1976
Mildred Roper
The Avengers
TV • 1961
Miss Lister
Jason King
TV • 1971
Frankenstein: The True Story
TV • 1973
Hospital Matron
The Saint
TV • 1962
Milanov
No Hiding Place
TV • 1959
Corrigan Blake
TV • 1962
Manhunt
TV • 1970
Denise
The Wednesday Play
TV • 1964
Rosalind Arnold
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Mademoiselle Motte
The Misfit
TV • 1970
Pamela
Story Parade
TV • 1964
Ruth Cowley
Man About the House
TV • 1973
Mildred Roper
Theatre 625
TV • 1964
Jane Matthews
Theatre 625
TV • 1964
Miss Binnington
The World of Hammer
TV • 1994
Self (archive footage)
Seven of One
TV • 1973
Mrs Scully
Redcap
TV • 1964
Magda