Sheila Bernette obit

BBC's Good Old Days and Coronation Street star and singer Sheila Bernette dies aged 94

Bernette also made appearances in Coronation Street in the 1970s

 

She was not on the list.

Singer and actress Sheila Bernette, who performed many times on the Good Old Days, has died aged 94, a friend has confirmed. The entertainer had a lengthy career, but is best known for her stint in the long-running BBC music hall programme.

Peter Kosta said his 'very good friend' died on Monday (January 12), describing her as 'just fun and laughter'. The 77-year-old told the Press Association how he first met Bernette while working in the theatre with Only Fools And Horses star Sir David Jason, and said: “I was looking for digs, and she said, ‘well, if you’re clean, I have a spare room in my house’.

“She always supported me in everything that I wanted to do, and always came to see me in everything I did, whenever she could. I have extremely fond memories of her.”

Kosta, who is also an actor, reflected on his time with Bernette on Sunday before her death, and said: “I saw her for nearly two hours, we were talking about the good old days.” He also described her as 'very funny' and 'very feisty'.

A statement shared by the Royal Variety Charity said: “Sheila will be very much missed by many of those who worked with her and those from the wider theatrical family.”

The charity, which supports those who have worked in the entertainment industries, said she was born Sheila Poncini in London on March 30 1931, into a family of Italian descent. She appeared in many UK television shows, including the BBC variety show the Good Old Days, in which she featured from 1968 to 1983. The show featured songs and sketches in the style of Victorian and Edwardian music halls.

She featured in 1961 romance film Ticket To Paradise as Clarice, and in comedy film The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971) as Mrs Spencer. The actress had credits in many comedy roles and has appeared on-screen alongside comedians including Dick Emery, Leslie Crowther and Morecambe and Wise. She was also one of the original practical jokers on the UK version of comedy series Candid Camera.

Bernette also appeared in the 1970 Royal Variety Performance, where she was introduced by Crowther as Russian defector ballerina Natalia Nokemova performing The Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, and on the BBC’s The Black And White Minstrel Show as a singer from 1967 to 1969.

She also starred as Mrs Poshington, a hotel guest who never leaves, in CBBC children’s sitcom Hotel Trubble from 2008 to 2011. She also appeared in films such as Three For All (1975), Car Trouble (1986) and Driving Aphrodite (2009), the latter of which being her last film appearance.

Bernette also made appearances in Coronation Street in 1973, The Morecambe And Wise Show, The Dick Emery Show, The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin, Cooper, Just Like That, which starred comedian Tommy Cooper, and The Little and Large Show.

Television

Fabian of the Yard (1955)

Arthur's Treasured Volumes (1960) with Arthur Askey as Agnes Barrett

The Angry Gods (1961) as Dorcas

Harpers West One (1962) as Pat Williams

Hancock (1963) as canteen lady with Tony Hancock

Walter and Connie (1963) as Janet

Hugh and I (1963 to 1966) as Jimmy's mother with Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd

Dave's Kingdom (1964)

Crowther Takes a Look (1965) with Leslie Crowther

Beggar My Neighbour (1967) as Olive

BBC Show of the Week (1968) as herself

Two of a Kind (1968) three episodes as herself with Morecambe and Wise

The Good Old Days (1968 to 1983) regular performer

The Black and White Minstrel Show (1967-1969) as a regular singer

The Morecambe and Wise Show (1968)

The Saturday Crowd (1969) as singer in all 28 episodes

Sandler and Young's Kraft Music Hall (1970) as singer

From a Bird's Eye View (1970) as Mrs Cake

Crowther's Back in Town (1970) with Leslie Crowther

The Leslie Crowther Show (1971) as herself

Tarbuck's Luck (1972) with Jimmy Tarbuck

The Dick Emery Show (1972) in 4 episodes

Shut That Door! (1973) with Larry Grayson

Coronation Street (1973) as Sister Delaney

Candid Camera (1974) 29 episodes as the female joker

Nobody Does it Like Marti (1976) with Marti Caine

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1977) as Gladys

Cooper, Just Like That (1978) as Tommy Cooper's stage assistant

Butterflies (1979) as keep-fit instructor

The Ballyskillen Opera House (1981) as Annie O'Kelly

Saturday Night at the Mill (1981) as performer

Punchlines! (1983) as herself

The Little and Large Show (1987-1990)

Virtual Murder (1992) as Mrs Hall

Uncle Jack and The Dark Side of The Moon (1992) as Miss Fortune

Agony Again (1995) as Faygey

The Queen's Nose (2001) as Gran's sister

Hotel Trubble (2008-2011) all 39 episodes as Mrs Poshington

Film

Sons and Lovers (1960) as Polly

Ticket to Paradise (1961) as Clarice

Daft as a Brush (1967) TV movie

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971) as Mrs Spencer

Eskimo Nell (1975) as casting girl

Three for All (1975) as Rhoda

What's Up Nurse! (1978) as Mrs Garrard

Car Trouble (1986)

Kin of the Castle (1987) TV movie,

Driving Aphrodite (2009) as Dorcas

Documentaries

A Little of What You Fancy (1968)

This Is Your Life (1994) - episode on Leslie Crowther

Smile... This Was Candid Camera (2010)