Hattie Jacques

Born Josephine Edwina Jaques in Kent on 7 February 1922, prolific comedy actress Hattie Jaques was a deeply beloved icon of British post-war entertainment.

Best known for her unforgettable roles in the Carry On film franchise and her long-running television partnership with Eric Sykes, she became the quintessential blueprint for the formidable, no-nonsense British matriarch, with her large physical stature and impeccable comic timing.

In contrast to the brassy, cantankerous characters she played on screen, friends and colleagues knew her as a warm, generous, bohemian soul.

Before entering the entertainment world, Jacques trained as a hairdresser and served as an arc welder and Red Cross nurse during the Second World War.

She made her professional theatrical debut in 1944 at London’s Players’ Theatre – for £3 a week and a sandwich every night. Her national breakthrough came via BBC radio, where she showcased her brilliant vocal characterisations on highly popular radio shows including It’s That Man Again (as greedy schoolgirl Sophie Tuckshop), Educating Archie (as simpering Agatha Dinglebody) and Hancock’s Half Hour, as Hancock’s stoic secretary Grizelda Pugh – a role she later transitioned to television.

Between 1958 and 1974, Hattie appeared in 14 Carry On films, playing everything from a formidable schoolmistress in Carry On Teacher (1959) to the romantic focus of Sid James in Carry On Cabby (1963) – but it was her portrayal of the strict, starch-aproned hospital Matron in classics like Carry On Nurse (1958) and Carry On Doctor (1968) that immortalised her.

On television, Hattie formed a decades-long professional partnership with Eric Sykes, co-starring as his unmarried twin sister in the sitcom hits Sykes and a . . .  (1960–1965) and Sykes (1972–1979).

In 1949, she married celebrated actor John Le Mesurier (famed for playing Sergeant Wilson in Dad’s Army), and the couple had two sons, Robin and Kim, and shared a lively, bohemian home in Kensington.

Their marriage fractured when Jacques began a passionate affair with her younger driver, John Schofield, eventually moving her lover into the family home.

Rather than reacting with rage, Le Mesurier quietly moved into a separate bedroom and tried to keep the family unit intact for the sake of their sons.

In an extraordinary act of chivalry to protect Jacques’ career and public image from any societal backlash, Le Mesurier willingly took the blame for the marriage’s breakdown in their 1965 divorce, and despite the turbulent split, the two remained deeply affectionate lifelong friends.

In his posthumously published autobiography, A Jobbing Actor, Le Mesurier reflected on their marriage and divorce with immense tenderness, grace, and zero bitterness.

Throughout her life, Jacques struggled with her weight and frequently played roles that mocked her size.

In her later years, her health severely declined due to arthritis, high blood pressure, and severe breathing difficulties exacerbated by a heavy 60-a-day smoking habit.

On 6 October 1980, Hattie Jacques suffered a fatal heart attack at her home in Kensington at the age of just 58.