Bread actress Jean Boht who starred as Nellie Boswell in Liverpool sitcom dies aged 91

The actress died following a long battle with dementia, just six weeks after her husband passed away.
Dominic Raynor
By Dominic Raynor
Published 13th Sep 2023, 11:44 BST
Updated 13th Sep 2023, 11:51 BST
Jean Boht at Liverpool Cathedral for the funeral of television comedy writer Carla Lane. Actress Jean Boht, best known for playing Nellie Boswell in sitcom Bread, has died aged 91, her family said. Picture: PAJean Boht at Liverpool Cathedral for the funeral of television comedy writer Carla Lane. Actress Jean Boht, best known for playing Nellie Boswell in sitcom Bread, has died aged 91, her family said. Picture: PA
Jean Boht at Liverpool Cathedral for the funeral of television comedy writer Carla Lane. Actress Jean Boht, best known for playing Nellie Boswell in sitcom Bread, has died aged 91, her family said. Picture: PA

Actress Jean Boht, best known for playing Nellie Boswell in the Liverpool-based hit sitcom Bread in the 1980s, has died at the age of 91.

The news comes just six weeks after her husband, conductor and composer Carl Davis, passed away, aged 86.

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The Bread matriarch was also known for her appearances on shows such as Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Last Of The Summer Wine, Brighton Belles, Doctors, Grange Hill, Juliet Bravo and Boys From The Blackstuff.

Her family said she died on Tuesday (September 12) while battling dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. She had been living at actors’ retirement home Denville Hall in North-West London.

BBC sitcom Bread, created by Carla Lane, ran from 1986 to 1991, the show was watched by more than 20 million people at its peak and Boht won a British Comedy Award for best TV comedy actress.

Jean Boht and her husband Carl Davis at a UK film premiere in 2016. Image: Ian Gavan/Getty ImagesJean Boht and her husband Carl Davis at a UK film premiere in 2016. Image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Jean Boht and her husband Carl Davis at a UK film premiere in 2016. Image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

A statement from her family said: “It is with overwhelming sadness that we must announce that Jean Boht passed away yesterday Tuesday 12 September.

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“Jean had been battling vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease with the indefatigable spirit for which she was both beloved and renowned.

“She was a resident at Denville Hall, the home for members of the theatrical profession.”

Boht and husband Carl Davis had two children and three grandchildren.

Related topics:LiverpoolDementia

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