Obituary: Jean Marsh, actress
Jean Marsh and close friend and collaborator Dame Eileen Atkins created not one but two hit TV series, Upstairs Downstairs and The House Of Eliott.
While different in subject matter — the former focused on the servants quarters of an Edwardian home while the latter told the tale of sisters who established a fashion house in the 1920s, each shared female starring roles, great scripts and exceptional acting.
Marsh was born in London but raised in Stoke Newington. She left school at 15 to train as a dancer, before building a career in repertory theatre as an actress.
Her big break came in 1959 when she appeared on Broadway with John Gielgud in his production of Much Ado About Nothing.
That same year she moved into television and during the 1960s appeared in such shows as The Saint and Doctor Who. Marsh had a long association with Doctor Who: as well as being married to the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, for five years, Marsh played Joan of England in The Crusade; Sara Kingdom, a companion of the First Doctor; and was a villain opposite the Seventh Doctor.
Upstairs Downstairs first aired in 1971, and its five series earned two Bafta awards and Marsh won an Emmy for best actress. At its peak, viewership exceeded 18 million. The House of Eliott (1991-94), which the duo produced, proved equally as popular, rating highly and selling worldwide.
In 2010 Marsh and Atkins remade Upstairs Downstairs, in which Marsh reprised her role as parlourmaid Rose Buck, but the show was overshadowed by another period blockbuster Downton Abbey. It was cancelled after its second season.
Her film credits included Cleopatra (1963), The Eagle Has Landed, Return To Oz and Willow.
Jean Marsh was made an OBE in 2012. She died on April 13 aged 90. — APL/agencies
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