Stephanie Cole, the Solihull-born actress best known for roles in Coronation Street, Waiting For God and Open All Hours, has died aged 84. Her agent John Grant confirmed the news in a statement on behalf of her family, revealing she had been living with Alzheimer's disease for some years.
Family statement confirms death after long illness
The statement said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Stephanie Cole, OBE. She passed away this morning at the age of 84. Stephanie had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for some years.”
Cole's family also highlighted her commitment to mental health causes. The statement continued: “Stephanie was an extraordinary talent whose long and distinguished career included many iconic performances in theatre and television. She brought joy to millions through her many much-loved roles in sitcom and drama. She will also be remembered for her tireless work supporting mental health charities. During this incredibly difficult time, the family kindly requests privacy.”
Career highlights from Tenko to Coronation Street
Born in Solihull, Warwickshire, Cole trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School after making her stage debut at the age of 17, playing the 90-year-old medium Madame Arcati in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit.
She appeared on Coronation Street between 2011 and 2013 as Sylvia Goodwin, the mother of Roy Cropper, and won the British Soap Award for best comedy performance for the role. One of her other best-known screen roles was playing Dr Beatrice Mason in the drama Tenko, which ran from 1981 until 1985 and followed the lives of British women in Singapore after the Japanese invasion and their consequent confinement in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
During the same time, Cole also played Delphine Featherstone, nicknamed The Black Widow, in the BBC comedy Open All Hours. In 1988, she joined the likes of Thora Hird, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters and Patricia Routledge in the first season of Talking Heads, performing the role of Muriel.
Awards and later roles
Cole won the British Comedy Award for best actress for the 1990s sitcom Waiting For God, about residents of a retirement home. In 2004, she returned to the same role aged 63 when the play was revived at the West End’s Savoy Theatre.
Her other notable roles include Still Open All Hours, in which she reprised her Open All Hours character Mrs Featherstone, The Cleaner and Gentleman Jack. Later roles also came in Doctors, Doc Martin, Midsomer Murders, Inside No 9 and The Cleaner.
In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to drama, elderly people, and to mental health charities. Cole also had an extensive career in the theatre, with roles in King Lear, A Passionate Woman, Noises Off and Talking Heads: A Cream Cracker Under The Settee.
