Jean Boht

Jean Boht
Boht at Save TV Centre Studios in 2013
Born	Jean Dance (1932-03-06)6 March 1932 Bebington, Cheshire, England
Died	12 September 2023(2023-09-12) (aged 91) Northwood, London, England
Education	Liverpool Playhouse
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1962–2018
Known for	Bread (1986–1991)
Spouses	William Boht ​ ​ (m. 1954; div. 1970)​ Carl Davis ​ ​ (m. 1970; died 2023)​
Children	2

Jean Boht (née Dance; 6 March 1932 – 12 September 2023) was an English actress, most famous for the role of Nellie Boswell in Carla Lane's sitcom Bread, one of several actors to remain with the show for its entire seven series tenure from 1986 to 1991.

Early life

Boht was born as Jean Dance on 6 March 1932 in Bebington, then in Cheshire, to Thomas Dance, a confectionery importer and chief entertainment officer of the local fire brigade, and pianist Edna May "Teddy", née Macdonald. She was educated at Wirral Grammar School for Girls.

Career

Boht trained at the Liverpool Playhouse, where she started her career as a theatre actress, before touring the United Kingdom in stage roles, working in numerous West End Theatres including the Royal National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. In a career spanning from 1962 to 2018, she appeared largely in television productions. These included guesting parts in Softly, Softly (1971), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1978), Grange Hill (1978), Last of the Summer Wine (1978), Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), Scully (1984) and Juliet Bravo in the mid-1980s.

In was through her regular role in the sitcom Bread (1986–91), as matriarch Nellie Boswell, which she found her largest audience, with the series attracting some 20 million viewers.

In 1989, she was the subject of This Is Your Life, and in 2008 she made a guest appearance in BBC One's daytime TV soap, Doctors.

Boht starred in The Brighton Belles, an unsuccessful British adaptation of the American sitcom The Golden Girls as the character of Josephine, based on Sophia Petrillo, the part made famous by Estelle Getty.

On stage, Boht appeared with Jeremy Irons in Embers (2006) at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.

Boht also appeared in the film Mothers and Daughters (2004), and starred in Chris Shepherd's award-winning short film Bad Night for the Blues (2010).

Personal life, illness and death

Commemorative plaque honouring Jean's mother Teddy Dance

Her first marriage to William Boht ended in divorce. She married the American-British conductor and composer Carl Davis on 28 December 1970. They had two daughters, filmmakers Hannah (born 1972) and Jessie (born 1974). Boht and Davis were executive producers on Hannah Davis's film The Understudy and they appeared in the film as a married couple. Davis died on 3 August 2023, just six weeks before Boht herself.

Boht was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. She was a resident at Denville Hall, a retirement home in Northwood, London, for actors and other members of the entertainment industry.

Boht died from complications of dementia on 12 September 2023, at the age of 91.

Awards

Boht won a British Comedy Award (now known as the "National Comedy Awards") for Best Comedy Actress in 1990.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Director	Notes
1978	Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair	Mother	Susan Shapiro Esther Ronay Francine Winham
1988	Distant Voices, Still Lives	Aunty Nell	Terence Davies
1988	The Girl in a Swing	Mrs. Taswell	Gordon Hessler
1994	Heaven's a Drag	Mrs. Downs	Peter Mackenzie Litten
2000	The Asylum	Mrs. Brindle	John Stewart
2004	Mothers & Daughters	Mary	David Conolly Hannah Davis
2007	Tug	Kathleen	David Andrew Ward	Short film
2007	Smallfilm	Ada	Richard Lawrence	Short film
2008	The Understudy	Mrs. Davidovitz	David Conolly Hannah Davis
2009	Kin	Mum	Brian Welsh
2009	To Cancer and Beyond	Mrs. Taggert	Veronica Walsh	Short film
2010	Bad Night for the Blues	Glad	Chris Shepherd	Short film
2018	Brexicuted	Short film	Chris Shepherd

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1968	Mr. Rose	Woman	3.01 "The Less-Than-Iron-Duke"
1970	Scene	Mrs. Potter	3.04 "£60 Single, £100 Return"
1971	Softly, Softly: Task Force	Mrs. Lacey	2.22 "Games"
1973	Six Days of Justice	Mrs. Taylor	2.02 "A Clear-Cut Case"
1973	Ego Hugo	Madame Mars-George	Television film
1973	Z-Cars	Clerk of the Court	9.08 "The Cinder Path"
1975	Couples	Mrs. Bannister	6 episodes
1976	Where Adam Stood	Mary Teague	Television film
1976	Bill Brand	Edna Copple	1.10 "Revisions"
1977	Esther Waters	Mrs. Spires	1.02 "Episode Two"
1977	Last of the Summer Wine	Maureen	4.05 "Who Made a Bit of a Splash in Wales Then?"
1978	Grange Hill	First Shop Assistant	1.05 "Episode Five"
1978	The Sweeney	Woman Neighbour	4.11 "Hearts and Mind"
1978	Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em	Mrs. Lewis	3.01 "Moving House" 3.03 "Scottish Dancing"
1979	Mother Nature's Bloomers	Various characters	6 episodes
1981	Sons and Lovers	Mrs. Leivers	Television miniseries
1981	Funny Man	Elsie	13 episodes
1981	Juliet Bravo	Mrs. Stannard	2.04 "Lies and Liars"
1982	Triangle	Mrs. Carter	7 episodes
1982	Juliet Bravo	Mrs. Fairchild	3.07 "Nothing to Report"
1982	Boys from the Blackstuff	D.O.E. - Miss Sutcliffe	1.03 "Shop Thy Neighbour"
1983	Goodnight and God Bless	Doris	1.05 "Ronnie's Wonderful Day"
1983	Maybury	Lucy Wildego	2.06 "Love's Labour: Part 1"
1983	Spyship	Mrs. Silvers	Television miniseries
1983	Juliet Bravo	Mrs. Jackson	4.12 "Off Duty"
1983	Bergerac	Mrs. Farrell	3.03 "Holiday Snaps"
1984	Scully	Gran	Television miniseries
1984	Arthur's Hallowed Ground	Betty	Television film
1985–1986	I Woke Up One Morning	Mrs. Hamilton	8 episodes
1986–1991	Bread	Nellie Boswell	74 episodes
1987	Agatha Christie's Miss Marple	Madame Joliet	1.09 "4:50 from Paddington"
1988	Screenplay	Mrs. Bing	3.04 "Eskimos Do It"
1992	The Cloning of Joanna May	Mrs. Love	Television miniseries
1992	Cluedo	Sister Concepta	3.05 "And Then There Were Nuns"
1993	Comedy Playhouse	Josephine	1.03 "Brighton Belles: Pilot"
1993–1994	Brighton Belles	Josephine	11 episodes
1995	The Big Game	Mrs. Harper	Television film
1996	Jim's Gift	Mrs. Leaver	Television film
1998	Casualty	Lil Clarke	13.15 "No Place Like Home"
2000	Doctors	Sylvia Wharton	1.27 "Loose Ends" 1.32 "Twist of Fate" 1.41 "To Have and to Hold"
2002	Holby City	Anita Reynolds	4.31 "Hearts and Minds"
2003	The Bill	Winnie Kettering	19.48 "123: High Speed Chaos"
2003	Trial & Retribution	Female Neighbour	7.02 "Suspicion: Part 2"
2005	Celebrate 'Oliver!'	Widow Corney	Television film
2006	Doctors	Jean Clarkson	8.105 "Before the Fall"
2007	Holby City	Rosemary Mulligan	9.34 "Another Country"
2007	The Bill	Rose Harrison	23.59 "Deadly Secrets"
2008	Doctors	Norah Joyce	10.107 "Ben and Norah"
2009	Casualty	Dorothy Gilbert	23.45 "Ashes"
2010	Missing	Barbara Mansfield	2.08 "Proving the Point"
2010	Doctors	Billie Cannon	12.84 "A Call of Nature"
2011	Skins	Doreen	5.08 "Everyone"
2011	Justice	Mrs. Roden	1.02 "Like Father Like Son"
2012	Casualty	Doris Quinn	26.21 "The Only One You Love"
2012	Doctors	Doreen Bennett	14.70 "Good Citizens"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Animals of Farthing Wood	Voice

External links

• Jean Boht at IMDb