A British actress, who is perhaps best known for her comic performances, in particular as Ma Boswell in long-running sitcom Bread (1986-1991). Jean Boht had already carved out a successful career in theatre when she made her small screen debut in an episode of crime drama Mr. Rose (1968). Over the following decade, she landed several dramatic roles before showing her talent for comedy in episodes of Last of the Summer Wine (1977) and Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em (1978). This would serve her well in the likes of Mother Nature’s Bloomers (1979) and Funny Man (1981) before landing the acid-tongued Boswell matriarch of Carla Lane’s Bread, which was watched by 21 million at its peak. She followed this with comedy Brighton Belles (1993-1994), a British remake of US hit The Golden Girls. More dramatic roles included two Alan Bleasdale mini-series, Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) and Scully (1984), and the Terence Davies film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988).
Read Jean Boht's Guardian obituary
