Stephanie Turner (British actress)
Stephanie Turner | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 May 1944 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1967–2010 |
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).[1]
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.[2] 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.[2]
Having worked in various roles between the 1960s and 2000s on stage, on radio, on television and as a director, Turner retired from acting in 2010. In more recent years she has helped to direct drama students, had a share in an antiques business, and volunteered with InterAct Stroke Support (a charity that allows actors to read to patients following a stroke).[1][2][3]
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Coronation Street | Shirley Walton | 5 episodes |
| Softly, Softly | Rita Ray | Episode: "Five Pairs of Hands" | |
| 1970 | Doomwatch | Toni Harker | Episode: "Survival Code" |
| Morning Story | Mrs. Woolford | TV movie | |
| 1971 | Owen M.D. | Molly Christie | 2 episodes |
| 1971 –
1975 |
Z-Cars | WPC Howarth | 16 episodes |
| 1972 | Play for Today | Jane | Episode: "The Reporters" |
| 1973 | Crown Court | Allison James | Episode: "No Spoiling (Part 3)" |
| Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads | Mary | Episode: "Birthday Boy" | |
| 1974 | Sam | Jessie Taylor (née Maugham) | 8 episodes |
| Special Branch | Jean Gosling | Episode: "Stand and Deliver" | |
| 1975 | Public Eye | Julia Sissons | Episode: "What's to Become Of Us?" |
| The Sweeney | Alison Carter | 3 episodes | |
| 1977 | Play for Today | Gillian Otway | Episode: "A Photograph" |
| 1978 | Emmerdale | Ruth Hepton | 12 episodes |
| 1980 | ITV Playhouse | Helen | Episode: "The Specialist" |
| 1980 –
1982 |
Juliet Bravo | Inspector Jean Darblay | 44 episodes |
| 1985 | Theatre Night | Mrs. Erlynne | Episode: "Lady Windermere's Fan" |
| 1990 | Screen Two | Podust | Episode: "Small Zones" |
| 1991 | Boon | Jeanette Jakes | Episode: "Two Men in a Vault" |
| 1992 | Casualty | Dinah Reynolds | Episode: "Profit and Loss" |
| Van der Valk | Elis Kortman | Episode: "Still Waters" | |
| 1993 | The Bill | Marcia Thompson | Episode: "Delinquent" |
| 1995 | Peak Practice | Doreen Rawlings | Episode: "Giving Up" |
| 1996 | A Touch of Frost | Mrs. Jarvis | Episode: "Deep Waters" |
| 1996 –
1998 |
The Hello Girls | Miss Armitage | 16 episodes |
| 2003 | At Home with the Braithwaites | Mrs Hope Q.C. | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Doctors | Gwen Clancy | Episode: "Igonarance is Bliss" |
References
- 1 2 Padman, Tony (16 March 2013). "Whatever happened to Juliet Bravo's Stephanie Turner?". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Stephanie Turner". BFI.org.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ↑ "Inspectors recall how love changes with passing years". This is Staffordshire. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2017.