Jean Boht Last updated March 27, 2025 • 2 min read From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia English actress (1932–2023)
Jean Boht
Boht at Save TV Centre Studios in 2013
Born Jean Dance
(1932-03-06 ) 6 March 1932Died 12 September 2023(2023-09-12) (aged 91) Education Liverpool Playhouse Occupation Actress Years active 1962–2018 Known for Bread (1986–1991) [ 1] Spouses William Boht
( m. 1954
; div. 1970
) 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. [ 2] [ 3] [ 4] She was educated at Wirral Grammar School for Girls . [ 5]
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 . [ 1] In a career spanning from 1962 to 2018, she appeared largely in television productions. These included guesting parts in television spots 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.
It was through her regular role in the sitcom Bread (1986–91), as matriarch Nellie Boswell, which Boht found her largest audience, with the series attracting some 20 million viewers. [ 1]
In 1989, Boht was the subject of This Is Your Life , and in 2008 she made a guest appearance in BBC One's daytime TV soap , Doctors .[ citation needed ]
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 . [ 1]
On stage, Boht appeared with Jeremy Irons in Embers (2006) at the Duke of York's Theatre in London . [ 6]
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).[ citation needed ]
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. [ 7] They had two daughters, filmmakers Hannah (born 1972) and Jessie (born 1974). [ 7] Boht and Davis were executive producers on Hannah Davis's film The Understudy and they appeared in the film as a married couple. [ 8] [ 9] Davis died on 3 August 2023, just six weeks before Boht herself. [ 10]
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. [ 11]
Boht died from complications of dementia on 12 September 2023, aged 91. [ 1] [ 12] [ 13]
Filmography 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" 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" 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"
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