To The Manor Born stars now - sad deaths, famous in-laws and tragic cancer news

To The Manor Born quickly became one of the most-watched programmes of the 1970s and 1980s on the BBC following its 1979 launch, with an audience of over 20 million for every single episode. It ran until 1981, then returned for a one-off catch-up with the familiar faces in 2007. Penelope Keith, who has sadly passed away aged 86, led the ensemble who played Audrey Forbes-Hamilton, the snobby widow who was forced to sell her vast country estate, Grantleigh Manor, to Richard DeVere (played by Peter Bowles), a nouveau riche millionaire supermarket owner originally from Czechoslovakia. K

Determined to ensure that this blow-in would not destroy her family, she moved into the estate’s small, modest lodge house to keep an eye on him. Having kept her butler and her much-loved Rolls-Royce, she attempted to maintain her social standing while conducting a will-they, won’t-they flirtation with Peter. Alongside an ensemble cast, they kept viewers glued to screens. The beloved actors in the ensemble had very different fates after the show ended. Here is a look at what they did next.

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Penelope sadly passed away on June 26th, aged 86, after a battle with cancer, as confirmed by her family. She enjoyed a successful career for over six decades.

She had BAFTA-winning success in both The Good Life and The Norman Conquests when she joined To The Manor Born in 1979. It was to be the start of a long run of leading lady roles in sitcoms for the star who went on to appear in Sweet Sixteen, Moving, Executive Stress, No Job for a Lady, Law and Disorder and Next of Kin. She also had the starring role in a TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's play Spider's Web.

She kept Audrey alive in the radio adaptations of To the Manor Born, which ran in 1997, and she reprised the role on screen for the 2007 reunion special. She also turned her hand to TV presenting, hosting one series of the ITV panel show What's My Line?, following the death of its former presenter, Eamonn Andrews. In 2014, she presented 4 Extra Goes Gardening, celebrating the work of garden designer Gertrude Jekyll at her former home, Munstead Wood in Godalming, which allowed her to indulge her love of gardening. In 2014, she fronted the documentary series Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages.

She was last seen on TV in January 2026 on Channel 4 series Saving Country Houses, which followed homeowners trying to keep their beloved homes afloat. Following the death of the iconic actor Laurence Olivier in 1989, she served as President of the Actors' Benevolent Fund from 1990 to 2022. She was also a Trustee of Brooklands Museum from 2009 to 2018. She was married to her husband, Rodney Timson, from 1978 until her death. The couple shared two sons.

Upon leaving RADA, Peter Bowles was warned by casting directors that he would never play an Englishman because of his "swarthy looks". It is ironic, then, that so many of his memorable roles are considered quintessential English gentlemen.

Many of his early roles were as villains before he found his way into comedy. Despite working steadily over the decades, playing Richard in To the Manor Born, which he joined at the age of 44, changed his life. Following the show, BBC bosses told him his success in comedy meant he would never work in drama again, so he devised his drama series called Lytton's Diary, about a newspaper gossip columnist, which he sold to ITV. It was while starring in that show that he was offered the title role of Major Yeates in the television series The Irish R.M. for Channel 4, which proved so successful that the Evening Standard declared in a headline: "Bowles Saves Channel 4".

Following The Irish R.M., he once again turned his hand to creating a show, co-devising the comedy drama Perfect Scoundrels, which ran for three series on ITV. In 1991, he returned to the BBC for the first time in a decade when he took them an idea for a dramatic film, Running Late. The film went on to win the Golden Gate Award in 1993 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. From 2016 to 2019, he returned to ITV to play the recurring role of the Duke of Wellington in the award-winning ITV series Victoria.

Sadly, Peter died aged 85 on March 17, 2022, from cancer. He is survived by his wife, Susan, whom he married in 1961, and their three children.

Angela Thorne became a national treasure thanks to her role as Audrey's long-suffering best friend, Marjory Frobisher, in To the Manor Born.

Away from that role, she has some other very impressive credits. In 1989, she voiced the role of Elizabeth II in The BFG, the film adaptation of Roald Dahl's book. In the theatre, her most famous role was as Margaret Thatcher, whom she played in Anyone for Denis? She was nominated for Best Comedy Performance at the 1981 Laurence Olivier Awards for her efforts. She reprised the role in a TV film of the production. She also made her mark in other acclaimed TV shows such as Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War and Heartbeat.

In 2013, she appeared at the Vaudeville Theatre, playing Mrs Louisa Wilberforce in The Ladykillers. She played alongside Ralf Little, Simon Day and John Gordon Sinclair.

She was married to fellow actor Peter Penry-Jones from 1967 until his death in 2009. The couple had two sons, Laurence and Rupert. She died June 13, 2023, at her family home in Battersea, aged 84.

Gerald Sim also appeared in To The Manor Born as the Rector who was constantly having his ear chewed by Audrey. Having appeared in the original show, he returned to his role as the Rector in the 2007 one-off special despite being retired at the time.

The Liverpool-born actor featured in over one hundred movies and television shows such as The L-Shaped Room, A Bridge Too Far and The New Avengers. Following the show, he enjoyed further big screen success in films such as 1982's Gandhi and Chaplin, and Patriot Games, both in 1992.

He was married to fellow actress Deirdre Benner until her death in 1999. Gerald was also the younger brother of actress Sheila Sim and the brother-in-law to Hollywood actor Richard Attenborough.

Gerald sadly passed away in December 2014, aged 89.

Rudling had been one of the earliest actors to appear on BBC television back in 1936 and was well known for his work in the famous Ealing comedies and for numerous TV show guest appearances when he took the role of Audrey's exceedingly patient butler, Brabinger, in To The Manor Born.

Already in his 60s at the time, his health failed during the second series when he suffered a heart attack. He was absent for several episodes, but returned later in the run. He didn't undertake much work after the show ended in 1981 but one of his final TV appearances was in 1982 in Ronnie Corbett's sitcom Sorry!.

He died aged 76 in 1983 from respiratory complications.