Maureen Lipman

Dame Maureen Diane Turner (; born 10 May 1946) Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the Ferens Art Gallery and Monument Bridge. Lipman grew up Jewish and found post-war Hull a welcoming place for the Jewish community. She lived in Northfield Road, Hull and attended Wheeler Primary School. The family later moved to The Greenway in Anlaby Park.

Lipman then attended Newland School for Girls in Hull, and in her youth became interested in performing. She performed in school productions, attended an early Beatles concert, and watched Elizabeth Taylor's Butterfield 8 fifteen times. Her first performances at home included impersonations of Alma Cogan; "a nice Jewish girl, she was big in our house", and she was encouraged into an acting career by her mother, who used to take her to the pantomime and push her onto the stage.

Lipman trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career Theatre Lipman worked extensively in the theatre following her début in a stage production of The Knack at the Watford Palace Theatre. In order to get the post, she pretended that a documentary producer wanted to follow her finding her first job – this was a lie but it seemed to work.

Lipman was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic from 1971 to 1973 and of the Royal Shakespeare Company for its 1973 Stratford season.

Lipman has continued to work in the theatre for more than fifty years, playing, among other roles, Aunt Eller in the National Theatre's Oklahoma!.

From October 2010 to February 2011, Lipman starred in a production of J.B. Priestley's When We Are Married at the Garrick Theatre. In 2012, she directed and appeared in a production of Barefoot in the Park on tour and starred in Old Money at Hampstead Theatre. In 2013, she starred in Daytona at the Park Theatre followed by a tour, and in 2014 a season at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2015, she starred with James Dreyfus in Mary Chase's play Harvey at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, on tour and at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In 2016, she starred in My Mother Said I Never Should at the St. James Theatre. In 2017, she starred with Felicity Kendal in a revival of Lettice and Lovage at the Menier Chocolate Factory. In 2018, she starred with Martin Shaw in The Best Man at the Playhouse Theatre, as well as returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time in fifty years with a one-woman show of jokes and storytelling called Up For It.

Television Lipman's first television role was in The Inquisitors opposite Diana Dors; other early appearances included the sitcoms The Lovers, and Doctor at Large, and a role in The Evacuees (1975). Lipman first gained prominence on television in the situation comedy Agony (1979–81), in which she played an agony aunt with a troubled private life. In her role as Stella Craven in Smiley's People (1982), Lipman appeared with Alec Guinness.

She performed the Joyce Grenfell monologue The Committee for the first time on The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog, which was recorded 1982, and broadcast by Channel 4 in 1983.

She played the lead role in the television series All at No 20 (1986–87) and took on a range of diverse characters when starring in the series of comedy plays About Face (1989–91). She is known for playing Joyce Grenfell in the biographical show Re: Joyce!, which she co-wrote with James Roose-Evans.

In 1996 she appeared in the BBC comedy drama Eskimo Day, written by husband Jack Rosenthal and directed by Piers Haggard, about the trials and tribulations of three young would-be students as they arrive with their families at Queens' College, Cambridge, on interview day. There was a sequel, Cold Enough for Snow, in 1997.

She appeared as snooty landlady Lillian Spencer in Coronation Street for six episodes in 2002. The character was employed by Fred Elliott (John Savident) to run The Rovers Return Inn. She re-joined the cast of Coronation Street in August 2018, this time playing Evelyn Plummer, the long-lost grandmother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall).

In 2003 she appeared in Jonathan Creek in the episode "The Tailor's Dummy". Lipman played Maggie Wych in the children's television show The Fugitives, broadcast in 2005. She has narrated two television series on the subject of design, one for UKTV about Art Deco and one about 20th-century design for ITV/Sky Travel.

She performed as a villain, The Wire, in the 2006 series of Doctor Who in the episode entitled "The Idiot's Lantern".

She has also appeared on Just a Minute, The News Quiz, That Reminds Me, This Week and Have I Got News for You. In 2007, Lipman appeared as a celebrity contestant on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice to raise money for Comic Relief. The show saw her helping to run a funfair. Later in 2007, she made a guest appearance in Casualty; this was followed by an appearance in a December 2011 episode of the Casualty spin-off Holby City, playing a different character.

In May 2008, she appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain. On Sunday 11 January 2009, BBC Four was devoted to a "Maureen Lipman Night". On 5 February 2009, she appeared in the third series of teen drama Skins, in the episode entitled "Thomas" as Pandora Moon's Aunt Elizabeth.

She played Irene Spencer in the ITV3 comedy Ladies of Letters, in which she starred alongside Anne Reid. The show's first series started in 2009, and it returned for a second series in 2010.

Film Lipman made an early film appearance in Up the Junction (1968). she was cast as the character "Beatrice Bellman" ("Beatie/BT"), a Jewish grandmother in a series of television commercials for British Telecom, and which was still referred to 25 years later by politicians.

Books, newspapers and magazines After her husband died in May 2004 she completed his autobiography By Jack Rosenthal, and played herself in her daughter's four-part adaptation of the book, Jack Rosenthal's Last Act, on BBC Radio Four in July 2006. which formed the basis for several autobiographical books, including How Was It For You?, Something To Fall Back On, Thank You For Having Me, You Can Read Me Like A Book and Lip Reading. Lipman has also contributed a weekly column in The Guardian in the newspaper's G2 section.

She writes for The Oldie and is on the editorial advisory board of Jewish Renaissance magazine.

Personal life Lipman is a practising Jew, and a member of the West London Synagogue. She was married to dramatist Jack Rosenthal from 1974 until his death in 2004, and had a number of roles in his works. The couple had two children, writers Amy and Adam Rosenthal. Following Rosenthal's death, she moved from Muswell Hill, north London, to Paddington. She also has a small apartment in Manchester, where she stays when filming Coronation Street. Retired computer expert Guido Castro, an Egyptian Jew, was her partner from 2008 until his death in January 2021. In August 2024, Lipman became engaged to David Turner, co-founder of gym chain LA Fitness (now owned by PureGym). The couple were married at his home in September 2025.

Political views Burma Lipman supports the work of the Burma Campaign UK, Europe's largest NGO regarding Myanmar (Burma). She supports the process of democratisation in the country, and the work of Prospect Burma, a non-political charity that offers Burmese students the opportunity to study at university overseas. Lipman spoke on behalf of Prospect Burma in the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, broadcast in September 2009.

Pro-Israel activism

Lipman supported Israel's cause during the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah conflict. On 13 July 2006, in a debate on the BBC's This Week, she argued that "human life is not cheap to the Israelis, and human life on the other side is quite cheap actually, because they strap bombs to people and send them to blow themselves up." These comments were condemned by columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who said "Brutally straight, she sees no equivalence between the lives of the two tribes". Lipman responded to Alibhai-Brown's accusation of racism by arguing that the columnist had deliberately misrepresented Lipman's comments as generalisations about Muslims rather than specific comments about terrorists. Australian scholar and journalist John Pilger characterised Lipman as a "promoter of selective good causes" who is "allowed to say, without serious challenge" that human life on the other side is cheap.

In The Jewish Chronicle, Lipman argued that media reporting of the conflict was "heavily distorted":

In May 2015, Lipman joined pro-Israel groups, including the Zionist Federation, in a protest against the Palestinian play The Siege in its London premiere at Battersea Arts Centre. In a 2016 interview, she ridiculed the Palestinians' "so-called" right to return, arguing that nobody "in history has ever had the right to return," and dismissed any United Nations' resolutions censuring Israel for its no-return policy, saying "This is all voted by people who don't allow women to drive and make them cover their heads with black bags."

In an interview to The Guardian, on 18 August 2020, Lipman inaccurately asserted that Hezbollah had claimed responsibility for the 2020 Beirut explosion, stating: "I'm very grateful that Hezbollah said they did it". She also stated she would not be prepared to work alongside pro-Palestinian actors, citing Maxine Peake and Miriam Margolyes as examples. She stated: "These bleeding, heartless liberals care so deeply for the Palestinians? That they espouse their cause at the expense of every other oppressed people of the world ... Shame. Shame. Shame on every one of you."

Antisemitism In a January 2015 interview on LBC Radio, Lipman said she was considering emigrating to the United States or Israel in response to what she perceived as increasing antisemitism in the United Kingdom.

In November 2023, Lipman joined a march against antisemitism in London alongside prominent celebrities including Vanessa Feltz, Robert Rinder, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Elliot Levey, Rachel Riley, Eddie Marsan, and David Baddiel.

The Labour Party At the 2005 general election, Lipman supported the Labour Party, but declared in October 2014 that she could no longer do so due to leader Ed Miliband's support for a parliamentary motion in favour of recognising the State of Palestine. In April 2018, Lipman criticised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the way he had ostensibly handled antisemitism in the Labour Party and the party's reputed failure to address the issue. Lipman attended a protest outside Labour's head office and said she was there "as a disenfranchised socialist". She identified with a placard reading "Corbyn made me a Tory". In a 2020 interview, she described herself as a "Labour luvvie" under the tenure of Tony Blair, as opposed to a "party member". She also said she would have to be "stark raving mad to support Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson". However, in July 2026, she announced that she supports Kemi Badenoch and is considering voting for the Conservative Party.

Filmography Film

Television

Stage Selected. + Year Title Role Notes 1971 Tyger Performer New Theatre, London 1979 Outside Edge Maggie Queen's Theatre, London 1983 On Your Way, Riley Kitty McShane The Queen's Theatre 1984 See How They Run Miss Skillon Shaftesbury Theatre, West End 1986 Wonderful Town Ruth Sherwood Queen's Theatre, London 1991-1992 The Cabinet Minister Lady Kitty Twombley UK Tour 1992-1993 Lost in Yonkers Bella UK Tour 1993-1994 Re: Joyce! Joyce Grenfell UK Tour 1994 The Sisters Rosensweig Gorgeous Teitelbaum The Old Vic, London 1998 Oklahoma! Aunt Eller National Theatre, West End 1999-2000 Peggy for You Peggy Ramsay Harold Pinter Theatre, West End 2003 Thoroughly Modern Mille Mrs Meers Shaftesbury Theatre, West End 2005 Glorious! Florence Foster Jenkins Duchess Theatre, West End 2008 The Cherry Orchard Charlotta Ivanovna Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester 2010 A Little Night Music Madame Armfeldt Garrick Theatre, West End 2010 When We Are Married Clara Soppitt Garrick Theatre, West End 2012 Barefoot in the Park Mrs. Banks UK Tour 2012 Old Money Joyce Hampstead Theatre, London 2014 Daytona Elli Park Theatre, London 2015 Harvey Veta Birmingham Repertory Theatre, London 2016 My Mother Said I Never Should Doris St. James Theatre, London 2017 Lettice and Lovage Lotte Menier Chocolate Factory, London 2018 The Best Man Mrs Gamadge Playhouse Theatre, West End 2023 Rose Rose Ambassadors Theatre, West End 2026 Allegra Allegra UK Tour

Publications How Was It For You? Home thoughts from a broad, Little Brown, 1986. Something to Fall Back On...and other pretty colourful material, Robson Books, 1987. (with Richard Philips)You Got An Ology?, Robson Books, 1989. Thank You For Having Me, Robson Books, 1990. When's It Coming Out, Robson Books, 1992. You Can Read Me Like A Book, Robson Books, 1995. Lip Reading, Robson Books, 1999. The Gibbon's in Decline But the Horse is Stable..., Robson Books, 2006. Past-it Notes, Gardners Books, 2008. I Must Collect Myself: Choice Cuts From a Long Shelf-Life, Simon & Schuster, 2010. It's a Jungle Out There: A Lipman-Agerie, Biteback Publishing, 2016.

Awards and nominations In 1994, Lipman was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Hull.

Honours

Lipman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to charity, entertainment and the arts. Accompanied by her son, Adam Rosenthal, she received her award from Charles, Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle on 28 October 2021.

Legacy Her papers, and those of her husband Jack Rosenthal, are held at the University of Sheffield.