Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.

Life and career

Jenkins was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, the daughter of a construction engineer. She originally trained to be a ballet dancer. Although born in England, she often played

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

characters. She made her noticeable film debut in ''

Millions Like Us ''Millions Like Us'' is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It starred Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Eric Portman and Megs Jenkins. It was co-written and co-directed ...

'' (1943) as the Welsh room-mate and confidante of the main character (played by

Patricia Roc Patricia Roc (born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold; 7 June 1915 – 30 December 2003) was an English film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' (1945) and '' The Wicked Lady'' (1945), though she only ...

). She went on to appear in such films as ''

Green for Danger ''Green for Danger'' is a popular 1944 detective novel by British writer Christianna Brand, praised for its clever plot, interesting characters, and wartime hospital setting. It was made into a 1946 film which is regarded by film historians ...

'' (1946), '' The History of Mr. Polly'' (1949), '' The Cruel Sea'' (1953), and ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...

'' (1968). She played the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, in two adaptations of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

's ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in ''Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmill ...

'': the film '' The Innocents'' (1961) and a 1974 television adaptation. She also frequently played comedic roles, and in later life was a regular in the sitcom ''

Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt ''Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' is a British television sitcom which ran on the ITV network from 1974 to 1978. Set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Scarsdale, the series stars Bill Maynard as Selwyn Froggitt, a council labourer, hapless handy ...

'', and the children's series ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

''. From 1933, Jenkins also had a long stage career, and appeared in several plays by

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flintsh ...

including ''

The Light of Heart ''The Light of Heart'' is a 1940 play by the British writer Emlyn Williams. It ran for 127 performances at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End between 21 February and 8 June 1940. The cast included Godfrey Tearle, Megs Jenkins, Gladys Henso ...

'' in 1940. In 1953 she appeared in the long-running ''

A Day by the Sea ''A Day by the Sea'' is a 1953 play by the British writer N. C. Hunter, first produced in 1953. First productions After premiering at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool on 26 October 1953 the play transferred to the Haymarket Theatre in the We ...

'' by

N.C. Hunter Norman Charles Hunter (18 September 1908 – 19 April 1971) was a British playwright whose plays attracted such notable actors to perform them as John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Sybil Thorndike, Ralph Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Redgrave ...

. In 1956, she won the

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...

for Best Supporting performance in

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...

's ''

A View from the Bridge ''A View from the Bridge'' is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was first staged on September 29, 1955, as a one-act verse drama with ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The run was unsuccessful, and M ...

''. Megs Jenkins's 1943 marriage to George Routledge, a commando who had been a childhood classmate, and who renewed their acquaintance when he saw her name in a review, ended in divorce in 1959.

Filmography

Film

Television

* ''

Jenny Meade Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

'' (1951, TV film) * ''

Dark Summer ''Dark Summer'' is a 1992 novel from Australian author Jon Cleary. It was the ninth book featuring Sydney homicide detective Scobie Malone, and begins with the discovery of a corpse in Scobie's swimming pool. The dead man was an informer involved ...

'' (1951, TV film) * '' The Human Jungle'' (1964, Episode, "Conscience on a Rack") – Dr Murphy * ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. J. Marric'). The series was made at Elstree Studios in twin production with '' ...

'' (1965, Episode, "The Wall") – Landlord's wife * ''

Weavers Green ''Weavers Green'' is a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than f ...

'' (1966, TV serial) * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (1969, TV film) * ''

The Befrienders ''The Befrienders'' is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1972. The series dealt with the work of the Samaritans organisation, and the individual cases its staff came across. The leading cast members were Megs Jenkins and Micha ...

'' (1970, TV film) – Janet * ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (1973, TV Serial) – Mrs. Fairfax * ''

Orson Welles Great Mysteries ''Orson Welles Great Mysteries'' is a British television series originally transmitted between 1973 and 1974, produced by Anglia Television for the ITV network. The series is an anthology of mystery stories. Each episode is introduced by Ors ...

'' (1973, TV series, Series 1, episode 11: 'The Monkey's Paw') - Mrs. White * ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

'' (1974, Episode, "Vermin") – Dr. Bridget Walker * ''

'' (1974, TV film) – Mrs. Grose * ''

'' (1976–77) – Mrs Froggitt * ''

Worzel Gummidge Worzel Gummidge is a scarecrow in British children's fiction, who originally appeared in a series of books by the English novelist Barbara Euphan Todd.

'' (1979–80) Mrs Braithwaite * '' Young at Heart'' (1980–1982, TV sitcom) – Ethel Collyer * '' A Woman of Substance'' (1985 TV film) – Mrs. Turner

References

External links

* *
Stage performances on the Theatre Archive, University of Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Megs 1917 births 1998 deaths English film actresses English television actresses People from Birkenhead 20th-century English actresses