Josephine Ann Tewson was an English stage and television character actress. Josephine Tewson was married twice.
Her first marriage was to Leonard Rossiter. Tewson was married to actor Leonard Rossiter from 1958 until their divorce in 1961.
Leonard Rossiter had a long career in the theatre, but his television comedy roles as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series Rising Damp and Reginald Perrin in the BBC’s The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin gave him the most fame.
Rossiter died from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy on October 5, 1984, while waiting to go onstage at the Lyric Theatre in London, where he was performing in Joe Orton’s play, Loot.
Josephine Ann Tewson was best known for her roles in British television sitcoms such as Edna Hawkins in Shelley, Elizabeth “Liz” Warden, Hyacinth Bucket’s long-suffering next-door neighbour in Keeping Up Appearances and Miss Davenport in Last of the Summer Wine
Josephine Tewson passed away on August 18, 2022, at Denville Hall, a London retirement home for actors at the age of 91.