Janet Ethne Anne Henfrey (born 16 August 1935) is a British stage and television actress. She is best known for playing Mrs. Bale on '' As Time Goes By'', and for her role as the schoolteacher in the

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), '' The Singing Detective'' (1 ...

television play '' Stand Up, Nigel Barton'' (1965), and Potter's serial ''

The Singing Detective ''The Singing Detective'' is a BBC television serial drama, written by Dennis Potter, starring Michael Gambon and directed by Jon Amiel. Its six episodes are "Skin", "Heat", "Lovely Days", "Clues", "Pitter Patter" and "Who Done It". The se ...

'' (1986), also as a schoolteacher.

Early life

Before training at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

she read English at

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. It has some 450 undergraduate and ...

, and spent a graduate year at

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's c ...

reading History.

Credits

Other TV credits include: '' Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' (1985); ''As Time Goes By'', '' The Jewel in the Crown''; ''

Reilly, Ace of Spies ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits, ...

''; '' Doctor Who'' (in the serial ''

The Curse of Fenric ''The Curse of Fenric'' is the third serial of the 26th season of the British science-fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1989. In it, the ancient evil ...

'' and the episode " Mummy on the Orient Express"); ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves#Jeeves canon, "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV (TV network), ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the ...

''; '' Casualty''; ''

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...

''; ''

One Foot in the Grave ''One Foot in the Grave'' is a British television sitcom written by David Renwick. There were six series (each consisting of six half-hour shows) and seven Christmas specials over a period of ten years from early 1990 to late 2000. The first fi ...

''; '' My Uncle Silas'' and ''

Simon and the Witch ''Simon and the Witch'' is a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It also refers to the name of the series, which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy, who has a friend wh ...

''. Henfrey also played a minor character in an episode of the 1996 series of '' The Famous Five'', "Five Get into Trouble" and Mistress Hecate Broomhead in two episodes of '' The Worst Witch'' ("The Inspector Calls" and "Just Like Clockwork"). She appeared in the 2002 adaption of the British miniseries ''Tipping The Velvet'' playing the character Mrs Jex, based on the novel by Sarah Waters. She also appeared in the 2015 British miniseries adaptation of ''

Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a s ...

''.

Personal life

Janet Henfrey lives in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, north London. She is a member of the Labour Party and a trustee of the International Performers Aid Trust.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* 1935 births Living people 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Hampshire Alumni of RADA Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford English stage actresses English television actresses Actors from Aldershot Smith College alumni {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub