Meg Johnson (actress) nous a quittés RIP

de Bel7 · 4 juillet 2023

Meg Johnson

Margaret “Meg” Johnson (30 September 1936 – 1 July 2023) was an English actress. Throughout a career spanning almost six decades, she became known for her roles on British television soap operas, including Eunice Gee in Coronation Street, Brigid McKenna in Brookside and Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale. Alongside her television roles, Johnson also appeared in musical theatre productions, including Chicago and Follies.

Career

Johnson’s first professional acting role occurred in 1961 in a television series titled Family Solicitor. Subsequent roles included The Referees (1961) and Here’s Harry (1961–1964).^[2] Johnson first appeared in a few guest episodes of the ITV television soap opera Coronation Street in 1976 as Brenda Holden, before being cast as Eunice Gee in 1981, a role she would play with recurring appearances until 1999.^[1]

In the 1980s, Johnson worked with Victoria Wood, appearing in several episodes of her shows Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, as well as Victoria Wood Presents.^[3] In 1997, Johnson appeared in the West End theatre revival of Chicago as Mama Morton.^[4] She also appeared in theatre productions of Follies and Gypsy.^[1]

From 2000 to 2003, Johnson appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside as Brigid McKenna.^[5]^[6] Later in 2003, Johnson was cast as Pearl Ladderbanks in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, a role she portrayed until March 2020.^[7]

Personal life

Johnson was married to English actor and ITV Granada television presenter Charles Foster from 1981 until his death in February 2023.^[8]^[9]

Johnson died on 1 July 2023, at the age of 86.^[10]^[11]^[12] In a statement Johnson’s family said she “had dementia for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless”.^[13]^[14] Emmerdale paid tribute to her on their social media accounts, describing Johnson as “a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye” adding that she would be “greatly missed by everyone who knew her.”^[15]

Filmography

Meg Johnson filmography^[5]^[16]
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	The Referees	Waitress	Television film
1961	Family Solicitor	Mary Carslake	3 episodes
1961–1964	Here’s Harry	Unknown	5 episodes
1964	Comedy Playhouse	Office girl	Episode: “The Mascot”
1972	Country Matters	Barmaid	Episode: “Crippled Bloom”
1972	Coronation Street	Tipsy woman	2 episodes
1973	Nearest and Dearest	Miss Pringle	Episode: “Get Out of That”
1974	How’s Your Father?	Alice Henthorn	Episode: “Who Was That Lady?”
1975	The Life of Riley	Betty Butcher	Episode: “Uneasy Riders”
1975	Play for Today	Vera	Episode: “Wednesday Love”
1976	Crown Court	Tricia Dibden	2 episodes
1976	Coronation Street	Brenda Holden	4 episodes
1976–1977	Yanks Go Home	Phoebe Sankey	Lead role
1979	Two Up, Two Down	Woman in precinct	Episode: “What’s Yours Is Mine”
1979	Mother Nature’s Bloomers	Various	6 episodes
1978–1979	Empire Road	Mrs. Ridley	4 episodes
1978	Strangers	Barmaid	Episode: “Paying Guests”
1980	Watch All Night	Dianne Eveling	Episode: “Night People”
1980	Strangers	Woman in suburbs	Episode: “Armed and Dangerous”
1980–1981	The Good Companions	Effie	2 episodes
1981	The Olympian Way	Violet	2 episodes
1981–1982, 1999	Coronation Street	Eunice Gee	Series regular
1985–1987	Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV	Various	4 episodes
1986	The Practice	Mary O’Dowd	2 episodes
1989	Split Ends	Mrs. Emery	Episode: “Tangles”
1989	Victoria Wood	Saundra/Connie	2 episodes
1993	Taggart	Mrs. Jeffrey	Episode: “Fatal Inheritance”
1993	Lovejoy	Maureen	Episode: “Ducking and Diving”
1993	Chris Cross	Nurse Garbo	Episode: “It’s a Jungle in There”
1998–1999	The Wild House	Aunt Yvette	Series regular
1999	Rab C. Nesbitt	Speaker of the House	Episode: “Commons”
2000	Peak Practice	Freda Norton	Episode: “Turning Tides”
2000	The Thing About Vince…	Sylvia	1 episode
2000–2003	Brookside	Brigid McKenna	Series regular
2003–2020	Emmerdale	Pearl Ladderbanks	Series regular
2011	Emmerdale: Paddy and Marlon’s Big Night In	Pearl Ladderbanks	Spin-off