Stephanie Turner

Stephanie Turner (born 25 May 1944) is an English retired actress. She is best known for the lead role of Inspector Jean Darblay in the first three series of the 1980s television BBC police drama Juliet Bravo (1980–82).

Early life Turner was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Career Her first notable television role was as Shirley Walton in 5 episodes of Coronation Street in 1968. In 1974 she appeared in an episode of Special Branch as Jean Gosling, sister of Frank Gosling played by Dennis Waterman, a year later she appeared again with Waterman in three episodes of The Sweeney (1975), playing his on-screen wife, Alison Carter. Her regular role as the featured character WPC Howarth in Z-Cars (1971–75) stood her in good stead for the future role of Inspector Jean Darblay.

She appeared in a 1975 episode of Public Eye as Julia Sissons, a 'missing' common-law wife-turned-barmaid. She also made an appearance in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads and played a recurring role as Jessie Naylor, née Maugham, in Series 2 of Sam (1974).

In 1980, after losing out to Jill Gascoine for the role of DI Maggie Forbes in ITV's The Gentle Touch (the first British police drama with a female lead), Turner won the role of Inspector Jean Darblay in the rival BBC series Juliet Bravo, which started airing four months after The Gentle Touch. Turner left the programme after the third series, replaced by Anna Carteret as Inspector Kate Longton.

In the 1990s, she was in each episode of The Hello Girls as Miss Armitage, a supervisor of a 1950s GPO switchboard; and played Mrs Hope Q.C. in two episodes of At Home with the Braithwaites.

Selected filmography