Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), 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 ...

and broadcaster, best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' from 1989 to 1998 and again from 2014 to 2020. Other television credits include ''

Absurd Person Singular ''Absurd Person Singular'' is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples. Each act takes place at a Christmas celebration at one of the couples' homes on successive Christma ...

'' (1985) and '' Night and Day'' (2001–2003). Her stage roles include UK touring productions of ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve you ...

'' (2005), ''

Calendar Girls ''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produ ...

'' (2011) and ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' (2015). In 2018, she was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, for the original West End production of ''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...

''.

Early life

Joseph was born, on 14 October 1945, in

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of ...

, London, England. She grew up in

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and attended Northampton School for Girls.

Career

Stage

In May 1973, Joseph appeared in ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

'' at the

Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom is a concert hall in Bournemouth. It opened in 1929 and has been redesigned several times since. History The area around Bournemouth Gardens was granted permission by the owners in 1859 to incorporate a public ...

. Joseph appeared in ''Cinderella'' at

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. ...

in 2008 and the Orchard Theatre in Dartford in 2009, and starred as Myra Wilson in the UK Tour of ''Hot Flush!''. In 2014, ''Hot Flush!'' embarked on its third UK tour. From 4 December 2010 to 22 January 2011, she appeared at The Grand Opera House, Belfast as the Wicked Queen in the pantomime ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

''. In the Summer of 2011, Joseph appeared as Chris in the stage show ''

'', based on the film of the same name. In 2014/15, she performed at the Theatre Royal Nottingham as the Wicked Queen in ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. In 2015, she appeared as Miss Hannigan in the stage production of ''

'' at certain venues, sharing the role with

Jodie Prenger Jodie Prenger (born 12 June 1979) is an English actress and singer, best known as the winner of BBC television series '' I'd Do Anything'' on 31 May 2008 and the second series of ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2006. In 2022, she began portraying the ...

and

Elaine C Smith Elaine Constance Smith (born 2 August 1958) is a Scottish actress, comedian, and political activist. She has starred in the BBC Scotland sitcoms ''City Lights'' (1984–91), '' Rab C. Nesbitt'' (1988–2014) and '' Two Doors Down'' (2016–), ...

she was cast as the fairy godmother in Cinderella at the cliffs pavilion (Southend on sea). In 2016/17, she was part of the cast in ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. Joseph then portrayed Frau Blucher in the West End production of ''

''.

''Birds of a Feather''

From 1989 to 1998, Joseph played Dorien Green in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'', alongside

Pauline Quirke Pauline Perpetua Sheen ( Quirke; born 8 July 1959) is an English actress who has played Sharon Theodopolopodous in the long-running comedy series '' Birds of a Feather'' (1988–1999, 2014–2017). For this role, she won the 1990 British Comed ...

and

Linda Robson Linda Patricia Mary Dunford ( Robson; born 13 March 1958) is an English actress and television presenter. She is best known for playing Tracey Stubbs in the sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–1998, 2014–2020) and her appearances as a weekl ...

Further TV work

Joseph starred in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap '' Night and Day'' from 2001 to 2003 playing the show's resident bitch, Rachel Culgrin. In 2002, Joseph appeared on a special edition of '' What Not to Wear'', where she was given a makeover by

Trinny Woodall Sarah-Jane Duncanson "Trinny" Woodall (born 8 February 1964) is a British beauty entrepreneur, businesswoman, fashion and makeover expert, television presenter and author. Woodall initially rose to fame as part of a makeover duo with Susannah ...

and

Susannah Constantine Susannah Caroline Constantine (born 3 June 1962) is an English former TV fashion 'guru', fashion writer, style advisor, television fashion presenter, author and clothes designer. Her second book, ''What Not to Wear'', co-written with her fas ...

. In 2004, she performed in ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'' opposite

and

Mica Paris Michelle Antoinette Wallen (born 27 April 1969), known professionally as Mica Paris (), is an English singer, presenter and actress. Paris was born in Islington in North London, but moved to Brockley, South London, when she was nine. She rel ...

. Since 2009, she has been a regular newspaper reviewer on '' This Morning''. She appeared in the 2014 series ''Secrets of the Asylum'', a two-part series for

. In 2015, Joseph took part in ITV's celebrity sheep herding series ''

Flockstars ''Flockstars'' is a British television series that ran on ITV from 30 July to 17 September 2015 hosted by Gabby Logan Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh presenter and a former international rhythmic gym ...

'', beginning on 30 July. In 2014, Joseph appeared with Forrest Dunbar on ITV2's ''Freshers: A Year On''. She makes frequent appearances on Channel 5's ''

Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

''. On 22 August 2016, it was announced that Joseph would take part in the fourteenth series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. She was partnered with

Anton du Beke Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...

. In their first week, the couple scored 23 points for their

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

to "

What'll I Do "What'll I Do" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1923. It was introduced by singers Grace Moore and John Steel late in the run of Berlin's third '' Music Box Revue'' and was also included in the following year's edition."American Classics - ...

", in week two, 26 for their

cha-cha-cha Cha cha cha may refer to: * ''Cha-cha-chá'' (music), a style of Cuban dance music * Cha-cha-cha (dance), a Latin American dance accompanying the music Film and television * ''Cha Cha Cha'' (film), a 2013 Italian crime film * ''Cha Cha Cha'' ...

to " Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps", in week three, 27 for their

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...

for "A Couple of Swells" from '' Easter Parade'' and in week four, 31 for their Charleston to "Won't You Charleston with Me?" from '' The Boy Friend''. The couple left the series in week five, after scoring 24 for their

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

to "

Whatever Lola Wants "Whatever Lola Wants" is a popular song, sometimes rendered as "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets". The music and words were written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 musical play ''Damn Yankees''. The song is sung to Joe Hardy by Lola, ...

". She was one of the four competitors who appeared in the special Christmas edition of ''

The Great British Sewing Bee ''The Great British Sewing Bee'' is a BBC reality show that began airing on BBC Two on 2 April 2013. In the show, talented amateur sewers compete to be named "Britain's best home sewer". A spin-off of the format of ''The Great British Bake Off ...

'' that was transmitted on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

2020 on

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. Her fellow competitors in the programme were Sabrina Grant,

Sally Phillips Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show '' Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as T ...

and

The Vivienne James Lee Williams (born 12 April 1992), better known by the stage name The Vivienne, is a Welsh drag queen, known for being appointed the first UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ambassador in 2015, winning the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race U ...

. In 2022, Joseph appeared on the seventh series of ''

Celebrity Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

'' alongside her ''Birds of a Feather'' co-star

Radio

Joseph began a radio show in 2008 on

BBC London 94.9 BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the Lond ...

with Christopher Biggins, airing every Sunday between 9am to 12noon. Biggins left the show after a few months, but Joseph has continued to host. She also stands in for

Vanessa Feltz Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster, and journalist. She has appeared on various television shows, including Vanessa (British TV series), ''Vanessa'' (1994–1998), ''The Big Breakfast'' (1996–1998), ''The Vane ...

on her weekday morning talk when Feltz is on holiday.

Personal life

Joseph is Jewish. She has two children. Joseph's mother, Rebecca Mundy (née Maccoby) was born in May 1912 and died in March 2016, aged 103.

Filmography

Theatre Credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Lesley 1945 births English stage actresses English television actresses Jewish English actresses Living people People from Northampton People from Hackney Central