Jean Fergusson (30 December 1944 – 14 November 2019) was a British television and theatre

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, who was best known for playing the part of Marina on the

British situation comedy A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

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 f ...

'' from 1985 until it was cancelled in 2010, and her several guest roles in the soap '' Coronation Street''.

Early life

Fergusson was born in the village of Woolley, near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, to Margaret (née Jackson) and Francis Fergusson, a civil engineer. They moved several times between

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

and

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

before settling in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Glamorgan in 1956 where Fergusson attended Bridgend Girls' Grammar School. While studying for her A-levels, she joined an amateur dramatics company, the Bridgend Castle Players, then trained as an actor at Cardiff College of Music and Drama (now the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

) and graduated in 1965.

Career

After touring schools with Brian Way’s Theatre Centre company, she spent two years in rep at

Oldham Coliseum Oldham Coliseum Theatre is a theatre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Found on Fairbottom Street in the town centre, Oldham's Coliseum is a repertory theatre which celebrated its centenary in 1987. Its interior makes it a great period ...

, followed by engagements in theatres all over the country. In 1974, Fergusson made her television debut with a few episodes in popular soap ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' playing Caroline Herbert, an old girlfriend of main character Roy Mollison, and appeared as Mrs Tremayne, a colonel’s wife, in an episode of '' All Creatures Great and Small'' four years later in 1978. In theatre, she appeared in the stage show of popular long running

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' in the 1984 summer season, playing Marina, an ageing blonde bombshell complete with peroxide blonde hair, false eyelashes and short skirt. The character was so popular with audiences that Marina was written into the television series, and she made her first appearance in 1985, and continued to play the character in every episode until the show's cancellation in 2010, appearing in a total of 216 episodes. Fergusson's show ''She Knows You Know!'', in which she portrayed the comedian

Hylda Baker Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ...

, performed at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

, was nominated for a 1998

Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best Entertainment of the 1997 season, and she was part of the cast of the touring play '' Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners''. After ''Last of the Summer Wine'' ended, Fergusson appeared in several television series, including ''

This is England '86 ''This Is England '86'' is a 2010 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, a spin-off from the 2006 film ''This Is England''. Set three years later, it focuses on the mod revival scene rather than the skinhead subcu ...

'' and three episodes of '' Doctors''. In 2010 she took on the role of Dorothy Hoyle in '' Coronation Street'', having previously played Gary Mallet's mother in 1999 and Dr Lowther's sister-in-law Helen Ashcroft in 1987. She reappeared in 2011, and was part of a large kidnapping storyline involving her husband Alan,

John Stape John Stape is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', played by actor Graeme Hawley. He made his first on-screen appearance during the episode airing on 6 May 2007. The character departed on 3 June 2011 after four y ...

and Chesney Battersby-Brown.

Personal life

Fergusson lived in Yorkshire until 2014, when she moved to London. She died at her home on 14 November 2019. Her partner of 30 years, Paul Jenkinson died in 2011.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview with Jean Fergusson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, Jean 1944 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Yorkshire Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama English television actresses British comedy actresses Actors from Wakefield