Joyce Grant

Joyce Grant (23 January 1924 – 11 July 2006) was a South African-born actress whose career spanned stage, television, and film across multiple decades. Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, she pursued formal training in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama, a move encouraged by her father. Following her studies, she returned to South Africa, where her stage work included the role of Lola in William Inge's Come Back Little Sheba and Laura Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

By the close of the 1950s, Grant relocated permanently to London, where she built a substantial theatrical career. Her London stage appearances included The Happy Apple, Something's Afoot, The Club, Deathtrap, and Tonight at Eight-thirty. In 1968, she made her Broadway debut in Rockefeller and the Red Indians, performing opposite Frankie Howerd. The following year, she appeared in the BBC television musical Pickwick.

Grant's television work included appearances in The Man in Room 17, Gideon's Way, and the episode Spy Probe of The Professionals. In 1980, she took the role of Jeffrey Fairbrother's mother in the first episode of Hi-de-Hi. Her stage career continued at an institutional level when, in 1987, she joined the National Theatre Company, appearing in three productions: Ting Tang Mine, Fathers and Sons, and Six Characters in Search of an Author. The following year she performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in The Wizard of Oz, playing Aunt Em and Glinda, and also appeared as Mother Superior in the third episode of the first series of Blackadder, titled The Archbishop.

After retiring from performance, Grant volunteered as a buddy to HIV-positive patients at the Lighthouse in London. Two photographic portraits of her by Lewis Morley are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. She died on 11 July 2006, from cancer, at the age of 82.