Dame Penelope Keith, best known for her roles in The Good Life and To the Manor Born, died at her home in Milford where she had lived with her husband, Rodney Timson, for 50 years. The on-screen star’s family confirmed she died peacefully at her home in Surrey after being diagnosed with cancer. In a statement, they 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.”
Penelope won her first Bafta for The Good Life in 1977, and was invited onto the coveted Morecambe and Wise Christmas special where she met her husband, policeman Rodney. He had been twice divorced and was eight years younger than the British actress.
The on-screen star recalled several people telling her she had made a mistake by marrying her other half, in a candid interview in 2007.
They couple met when she was in a play in Chichester. After the wedding, Rodney left the police force to become Penelope’s manager.
There was much speculation about how long their union would last but the couple rode the wave.
“Lots of people who said I was making a mistake have divorced in the time we’ve been married, and we are still very happy,” she told the Daily Mail in 2007, in a marriage confession.
“I don’t think I was desperate to find somebody. I certainly hope not. I was frightfully busy with work.”
The couple enjoyed a happy life together and ten years after they tied the knot, they adopted twin brothers.
The suggested mismatch in Penelope’s love life was similar to the scenes portrayed in between Audrey and nouveau-riche supermarket tycoon Richard DeVere (Peter Bowles) in 1979’s To The Manor Born.
In the programme, Audrey had to give up her country pile to DeVere when the death of her husband left her in debt.
The “will they, won’t they” scenario kept viewers hooked with the couple finally tying the knot in 1981 in the final epsiode which drew in nearly 25 million viewers.
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