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Jean Margaret Hodgkinson (11 October 1926 – 14 October 2016), known by the stage name Jean Alexander, was a British television actress. She was best known to television viewers for her long running role of
Hilda Ogden Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became synonymous with a classic hard-working Northern ...
in the soap opera ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
'', a role she played from 1964 until 1987, and also as Auntie Wainwright in the long-running sitcom ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...
'' from 1988 to 2010. For her role in ''Coronation Street'', she won the 1985
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Award for Best Performance, and received a 1988
BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
nomination for
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
.


Early life

Jean Margaret Hodgkinson was born at 18 Rhiwlas Street in
Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...
, Liverpool, in 1926, to Nell and Archie Hodgkinson; her father worked as an electrician and the family lived in a terraced house with no indoor lavatory. Alexander had an elder brother, Kenneth. She aspired to become an actress from an early age, and later said that she was inspired by variety acts she saw at the Pavilion theatre in her home city. She attended St Edmund's College for Girls in Princes Park, ToxtethJean Alexander Obituary in The Telegraph
Retrieved 17 October 2016
and as a teenager, she joined an amateur theatre group and took elocution lessons.


Career

Alexander spent five years as a
library assistant A library technician or library assistant is a skilled library and information paraprofessional trained to perform the day-to-day functions of a library, and assists librarians in the acquisition, preparation, and organization of information. They a ...
in Liverpool before she began her acting career in 1949 at the Adelphi Guild Theatre in
Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
. She first appeared as Florrie in '' Sheppey'' by
Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
. She later worked in
rep Rep, REP, or a variant may refer to: As a word * Rep (fabric), a ribbed woven fabric made from various materials * ''Rep'' (TV series), a 1982 British comedy series * '' The Rep'', an entertainment guide published by the ''Arizona Republic'' 1997 ...
in
Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
,
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
and
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Most of her parts were minor, and she also worked as a wardrobe mistress and stage manager. Her television debut is variously given as in the police series ''
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...
'' (1962) or in ''Deadline Midnight'' (1961).


''Coronation Street''

Alexander first appeared in ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
'' in 1962 in a minor role as a
landlady A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the t ...
. Two years later, she returned to the programme as
Hilda Ogden Hilda Ogden (also Crabtree) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the serial, whose name became synonymous with a classic hard-working Northern ...
. She started playing the role on 8 July 1964, finally leaving on 25 December 1987. Ogden became highly popular with viewers and Alexander was often identified with her character. In the ''40 Years on Coronation Street'' special, she recounted an incident that had happened years previously: while she was shopping, a fan asked if she was Hilda. She responded in her normal accent, "I beg your pardon?" Taken aback, the fan said, "Oh, don't you talk funny!" The British League for Hilda Ogden was established in 1979 by
Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
,
Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...
,
Russell Harty Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows. Early life Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of greengrocer Fred Harty, who ran a fruit-and-veget ...
,
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
and
Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the U ...
, among others. In 1984, hundreds of fans sent her condolence cards after the death of her on-screen husband
Stan Ogden Stanley Josiah Ogden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Bernard Youens. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 29 June 1964 and remained for twenty years until his death on 21 ...
; the actor who played him,
Bernard Youens Bernard Arthur Popley (28 December 1914 – 27 August 1984), better known by his stage name Bernard Youens, was an English character actor of stage and television, and briefly appeared in radio plays and had cameos in film. He was also a TV ...
, died a few months before his character was killed off. In 1985 she received the
Royal Television Society Award The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
for her performance on ''Coronation Street''. When she decided to leave the show in 1987, fans started "Save Hilda!" campaigns; however, many were unaware she had made her own decision to depart. Her final scenes in the programme were aired on 25 December 1987, attracting nearly 27 million viewers, the highest number in the show's history. In 2005 the UK ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'' poll voted her as the "Greatest Soap Opera Star of All Time". On 6 December 2010, Alexander spoke by telephone to ITV's '' This Morning'' to discuss her time on ''Coronation Street'' on the day of the drama's 50th anniversary episode.


Other roles

In 1988, Alexander made a guest appearance in the long-running BBC comedy series ''
Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes foll ...
'' as Auntie Wainwright, the money-grabbing local junk shop owner. She returned for a second guest appearance in 1989, and finally became a series regular in 1992, remaining until the end of the series in 2010. Her film credits include ''
Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
'' (1989) and '' Willie's War'' (1994). Alexander voiced Mrs Santa in the
Robbie the Reindeer ''Robbie the Reindeer'' is a series of three animated comedy television specials co-produced by the BBC and the charity Comic Relief which were broadcast on BBC One between Christmas 1999 and 2007. Although the series is distributed commercially b ...
film ''
Hooves of Fire "Hooves of Fire" is one of three animated BBC Christmas comedy television specials, filmed using stop motion techniques, and presented in 1999 in aid of Comic Relief. Story Robbie, son of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, arrives at Coldchester, ...
'' (1999), and also appeared in ''
Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...
'' and as Lily in the children's series ''
The Phoenix and the Carpet ''The Phoenix and the Carpet'' is a fantasy novel for children, written by E. Nesbit and first published in 1904. It is the second in a trilogy of novels that begins with ''Five Children and It'' (1902), and follows the adventures of the same ...
''. She starred with
Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE (born 29 September 1946) is an English actor. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in ''Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Mirand ...
and
Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...
in the comedy series ''Rich Tea and Sympathy'', and appeared in the quiz show ''
Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Wadding ...
''. Later, she appeared in '' Barbara'', ''Heartbeat'', ''Where the Heart Is'' and ''The Afternoon Play''.


Personal life and death

Alexander never married, stating that she put her acting career first. She was a close friend of her ''Coronation Street'' husband,
Bernard Youens Bernard Arthur Popley (28 December 1914 – 27 August 1984), better known by his stage name Bernard Youens, was an English character actor of stage and television, and briefly appeared in radio plays and had cameos in film. He was also a TV ...
. Her autobiography, ''The Other Side of the Street: The Autobiography of Jean Alexander'', was published in 1989. She lived for many years in
Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...
, Merseyside, and in 2009 she joined with others to campaign successfully for a temporary library in the town while the central library was being refurbished. She was a keen gardener and after her death was commemorated in the town with a memorial bench at
Southport Flower Show Southport Flower Show, held at Victoria Park in Southport, is the largest independent flower show in the United Kingdom. It was originally started in 1924 by the local council, but since 1986 has been operated by Southport Flower Show company, whic ...
, where she was a regular visitor. She donated her 1955 Qualcast Panther lawnmower to the
British Lawnmower Museum The British Lawnmower Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the lawnmowers in Southport, Merseyside, northern England. The museum has over 300 restored exhibits of garden machinery from over the last 200 years, as well as a collection o ...
in the town, where it is still on display. Alexander announced her retirement in 2012, two years after her last television appearance. Her acting career lasted for more than 60 years. She celebrated her 90th birthday on 11 October 2016, but was taken ill and died three days later in Southport Hospital.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Jean 1926 births 2016 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Liverpool English autobiographers English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English voice actresses People from Southport British comedy actresses Women autobiographers