Entertainment18 September, 20263 min read
Stephanie Cole Dies Aged 84, Agent John Grant Confirms Alzheimer's Years
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Stephanie Cole died aged 84, agent John Grant confirms. Had been living with Alzheimer's disease for several years.
Stephanie Cole dies at 84
British actress Stephanie Cole, known for roles in Tenko, Open All Hours and Doc Martin, has died aged 84, with her agent John Grant issuing a statement on behalf of her family confirming she had been living with Alzheimer's for several years. The statement said, "Stephanie was an extraordinary talent whose long and distinguished career included many iconic performances in theatre and television," and it added that she brought joy to millions through her much-loved roles in sitcom and drama. Cole was perhaps best known for playing Dr Beatrice Mason in the 1980s BBC wartime TV drama Tenko, which chronicled the lives of British women in Singapore after the Japanese invasion and their confinement in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
During the same period, she played the moody customer Mrs Delphine Featherstone, aka "The Black Widow," in the Ronnie Barker-starring Open All Hours. Her stage highlight, by her account, was in a West End production of A Passionate Woman, and she was made an OBE in 2005 for her services to drama, the elderly and mental health charities.
Family statement and tributes
Multiple outlets said Cole died after battling Alzheimer's disease, with Chronicle Live reporting that it had been confirmed she died this morning at the age of 84 and that her agent John Grant made the announcement. In that statement, Grant said, "She passed away this morning at the age of 84," and he added that Stephanie had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for some years. Sky News also quoted Grant’s statement on behalf of her family, saying, "During this incredibly difficult time, the family kindly requests privacy."
Sky News placed her Coronation Street run between 2011 and 2013 as Sylvia Goodwin, and it said she won the British Soap Award for best comedy performance for the role. The Independent similarly said Grant confirmed Cole had died that morning after "living with Alzheimer’s disease for some years," and it described her as best known for Coronation Street, Tenko and Doc Martin.
Legacy across TV and theatre
Cole’s career spanned TV, radio and film, and BBC described her training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and her stage work including Driving Miss Daisy and King Lear at Bristol Old Vic. Metro.co.uk said she made her stage debut at 17 playing elderly medium Madame Arcati in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit, a role she returned to in 2004 when the play was revived at the West End’s Savoy Theatre. Metro also said Cole joined the Corrie cobbles in April 2011 as Sylvia Goodwin, Roy’s mother, and it said the role won her the best comedy performance gong at the British Soap Awards in 2012.
In addition to Coronation Street, she reprised her Open All Hours character Delphine Featherstone in Still Open All Hours from 2013 to 2019 and guest-starred in Dead Line, a Halloween episode of Inside No.9, in 2018. The Independent noted that in 2005 she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to drama, the elderly and mental health charities, and it said she was married twice, first to Henry Marshall and later to Peter Birrel, who died in 2004.