Joan Benham

Joan Benham

Country 
GenderFemale
Birthday
BiographyJoan Benham (17 May 1918 – 13 June 1981) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Lady Prudence Fairfax in the ITV period drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. She was born in London and was the first cousin of Hollywood actress Olive Sturgess.

Although her career mostly centred on television, Benham began her career appearing on the West End stage in the 1940s and continued to appear on the London stage periodically throughout her career. She appeared on Broadway as Helena in the 1954 revival of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream opposite Patrick Macnee as Demetrius.

Joan Benham appeared in sixteen episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs, from the first to the last series, as a Bellamy family friend, Lady Prudence Fairfax. Other London Weekend Television roles for her saw her appear as Lady Loftus in the comedies Doctor in the House, Doctor in Charge and Doctor on the Go and as Cecily Foyle, the friend of prison governor Faye Boswell (and a recurring role), in the drama Within These Walls.

Other television programmes she appeared in include, Mrs Thursday, Father Brown, The Duchess of Duke Street, Just William and Take My Wife. Her film credits include the Miss Marple movie Murder Ahoy! (1964), Ladies Who Do (1963), Perfect Friday (1970) and Carry On Emmannuelle (1978).

Her last role was as Melinda Spry in the sitcom Terry and June. This episode, The Lawnmower, was broadcast on 13 November 1981, exactly five months after the day she had died, in Westminster, London, aged 63.

Biography from the Wikipedia article Joan Benham. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Road Wars
Running

Road Wars

Roadways can be a wild place. With violent road rage incidents increasing 500% over the last decade, "road raging" is a human behavior that has become widely known. Road Wars takes a deep dive into American roadways, examining extreme human behavior, wild weather, insane accidents and a few welcome instances of acts of kindness.


 

007: Road to a Million
Running

007: Road to a Million

From the Hollywood producers behind the James Bond movies comes 007: Road to a Million. Nine pairs of everyday people are unleashed on an epic global adventure through a series of Bond inspired challenges, for a shot at winning a life-changing £1,000,000 prize. The Controller is the mastermind behind the game, watching the pairs as they hunt for 10 questions he's hidden around the world

My Life With the Walter Boys
Running

My Life With the Walter Boys

In the coming of age show, following the loss of her family in a tragic accident, 16-year old Manhattanite Jackie Howard has to learn to adapt to a new life in rural Colorado with her guardian – and 12 very rowdy kids. 

Tulsa King
Running

Tulsa King

Tulsa King follows New York mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi, just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a "crew" from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that, to him, might as well be another planet. 

The Bold and the Beautiful
Running

The Bold and the Beautiful

They created a dynasty where passion rules, they are the Forresters, the first name in Fashion. The Bold and the Beautiful, a world of fashion, glamor and romance. A place where power, money and success are there for the taking in a city where dreams really do come true. Follow the lives and loves of the Forresters on The Bold and the Beautiful...