
British actress best known for her role as Mildred Roper in the '70s sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off George and Mildred. Born to musical parents Hurst Needham and Jessica Rivett in 1927, Joyce was trained at RADA, toured with ENSA and came to prominence via the Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop, securing roles in TV shows such as The Avengers, Man in a Suitcase, Te Saint, Jason King and Steptoe and Son, and the films The Pumpkin Eater, A Man For All Seasons, Charlie Bubbles, All the Right Noises and Burke and Hare. She was married to fellow actor Glynn Edwards from 1956 to 1968, and they remained friends all her life. An alcoholic, Joyce died from liver failure in 1980, just four days after her 53rd birthday. Her sitcom co-star Brian Murphy was by her side. In 1986 the Smiths used an image of Joyce on the sleeve of their UK single release "Ask" and the German release of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" securing her place as a British cultural icon.

Frankenstein: The True Story

George & Mildred

The Avengers

Jason King

わが命つきるとも

The Saint

Frankenstein: The True Story

Theatre 625

On the Buses

Our Mother's House

Man About the House

Seven of One

Steptoe & Son Ride Again

George and Mildred

Fanatic

Nearest and Dearest

The Pumpkin Eater

Charlie Bubbles

Manhunt

The World of Hammer

A Place to Go

The Road Builder

Redcap

Fragment of Fear

Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width

All the Right Noises

Catch Us If You Can

Stranger in the House

Sparrows Can't Sing

Burke & Hare

Your Name's Not God, It's Edgar

BBC Play of the Month

Kaleidoscope

Man About the House

Twenty-Nine

The Wednesday Play

No Hiding Place

Luther

Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs

Maigret at Bay

The Misfit