0:00:02 > 0:00:05Oh, you've got a great face, Gavin. Gorgeous!
0:00:05 > 0:00:07And a great pair of lips.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Ooh! Look at you.
0:00:10 > 0:00:11How's your leg?
0:00:12 > 0:00:15As an outrageously saucy old woman on screen,
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Margaret John became a national treasure.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Oh, yes, I was a stripper.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26She got away with murder because she had that lovely innocent face, you know.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30- How far did you go? - All over the South Wales area.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36But she only achieved fame at the end of her career.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39- Hello, Bronwen.- Hello, Dai.
0:00:39 > 0:00:45Her comic roles came after half a century of playing tragic, suffering women.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I deal in fundamentals - life and death.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53- Ohhh.- Gwen, are you all right?- Yes.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57What few knew was that her own life had seen more tragedy
0:00:57 > 0:01:01and romance than most of the television dramas she appeared in.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Margaret John was born in Swansea in 1926.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31She grew up in Manselton,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35a solidly working-class area of the city.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Maggie was the youngest of two sisters born to Ivor and Dorothy John.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Ivor was a wages clerk and Dorothy
0:01:46 > 0:01:49worked in the haberdashery section of a local department store.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52She was a fine figure of a woman, very extrovert.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And she was the dominant figure in the house.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59And I'm sure Margaret got that theatrical strain
0:01:59 > 0:02:03from the unintentional theatricality of Dorothy.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Though she was never fluent herself,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Maggie grew up in a Welsh-speaking household.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Her grandfather was a staunch defender of the language
0:02:13 > 0:02:17and this would cause problems when the war broke out.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24The family were the only ones in Monterey Street
0:02:24 > 0:02:26that didn't have an Anderson shelter
0:02:26 > 0:02:29because my great-grandfather refused to speak English to people,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33so the people from the council never delivered
0:02:33 > 0:02:35the materials to build the Anderson shelter.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38So, when there was an air raid siren, it was either
0:02:38 > 0:02:41the children in the laundry basket in the 'cwtch dan y star',
0:02:41 > 0:02:46or over the garden wall, to each side of the neighbours' Anderson shelters.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53In 1941, when Maggie was just 14, the Luftwaffe carried out
0:02:53 > 0:02:57a series of sustained bombing raids on Swansea,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00over three consecutive nights.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This was the Swansea blitz.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08And, one night, when they knew
0:03:08 > 0:03:10there was going to be a heavy bombing raid,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13she had to walk from Manselton down to Mumbles,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17along with streams of other people, with the city on fire in the background
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and the planes coming in, and the ack-ack firing going off.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25It was a very exciting time as she used to describe it,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29you know, being a young teenager when all that was going on.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34But terrifying nevertheless because they lost neighbours, they lost friends.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Luckily, it was only the roof of their house that was blown off
0:03:38 > 0:03:43but other houses were completely flattened, together with all the occupants.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48After the war,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Maggie got together with some friends to former youth club.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56And it was there that her talent for drama became apparent.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59They put on plays and my older brothers,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02and Maggie, and various other friends,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05all got together and got involved in doing that.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09They put on Blodeuwedd, I remember, the Saunders Lewis play
0:04:09 > 0:04:11and I'm pretty sure Maggie was in that.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16By day, Maggie was now working for the coal board.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18But, in the evenings,
0:04:18 > 0:04:24she took to the stage with local amateur company the Landore Players.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Their director encouraged her to apply for a place in drama school.
0:04:29 > 0:04:35In 1949, Maggie was accepted at the age of 22,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41After a year's intensive training,
0:04:41 > 0:04:46she returned to Swansea, in search of professional acting work.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51It was there that she encountered fellow actor Lindsay Evans.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54When I met Margaret, I suppose in the early '50s, roundabout 1953,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56one knew about Margaret John.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58She'd been to drama school.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01She was very good to look at and she was very popular, obviously.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Slightly older than I was then, but admired her enormously.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08But there was something different about Margaret.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10We'd say in Welsh, very 'agos', very close to you.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15And that was a great characteristic she had for all her life, really.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I think that's why we all loved her so much.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22She was pretty and vivacious and good fun.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26All the young lads were all vying to go out with her and things.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30I think she got engaged several times, you know.
0:05:30 > 0:05:36Briefly, each time, to all the most eligible young Adonises around in Swansea.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39She was actually engaged six times.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42One of the engagements I know broke off because he asked her
0:05:42 > 0:05:45whether she was any good at make do and mend.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48That was the end of that relationship.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53When she wasn't fending off admirers,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Maggie was trying to get her foot on the ladder as a professional actors.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Work was hard to come by, but during her 20s,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06Maggie began making appearances in repertory at Swansea Grand Theatre.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07They had a resident company
0:06:07 > 0:06:11and they could only afford to have one extra member in per week.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16So it was either Margaret John or Islwyn Morris.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18So there was very little theatre.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22People don't realise how arid things were in the 1950s.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Hardly any television. There was very, very little radio.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28This didn't deter Maggie.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34She wrote letter after letter to the BBC in Cardiff, in search of radio work.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37"18th of April, 1961.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40"Dear Miss Evelyn Williams, I would be most grateful
0:06:40 > 0:06:43"if you could consider me for some broadcasting.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48"I have worked on sound for John Griffiths, Aled Vaughan, Emlyn James..."
0:06:48 > 0:06:51"Dear Miss John, Thank you very much for your letter.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55"I fear that I cannot offer you a part in the immediate future.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58"Yours sincerely, Evelyn Williams."
0:06:58 > 0:07:02The letter-writing paid off when Maggie was offered roles
0:07:02 > 0:07:04in radio dramas such as Smoke In The Valley,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07playing the wife of a struggling novelist.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Paperbacks! Those are the books people buy. Yours, they borrow.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15What's the new one you've got coming out? Smoke in the Valley?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17I suppose it'll sell the usual library copies.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Thanks for the encouragement(!)
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Gareth Richards, the great Welsh author(!) Huh!
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Darling of the critics. Man of principle.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29- The writer who despises success. - I don't despise success.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33I just don't agree that people like Gwyn Llewellyn are successful.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Oh, Gareth!
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Most of the people who did radio were amateurs.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40They were schoolteachers or, very often, solicitors,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42or commercial travellers.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44And they did it always in the evening.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49So, such a thing as doing drama by day was very, very rare in those days.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51By the time she'd turned 35,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Maggie had become frustrated by the lack of opportunities in Wales.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59In 1962, she took the plunge and moved to London.
0:07:59 > 0:08:05Well, one always admired people like Margaret for having the guts to do that.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Come what may, this is what she wanted to do.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Maggie was one of a group of young Welsh actors
0:08:14 > 0:08:16keen to make their mark in the city.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19They all stuck together. They all socialised together.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21They all went for interviews together.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27And, yes, lots of periods of signing on in the employment exchange and interviews.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30"May 19th, 1962.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35"Dear Mr Michael Bakewell, Would you please consider me when you are casting?
0:08:35 > 0:08:39"I have been broadcasting for 12 years in the Welsh regions
0:08:39 > 0:08:41"but this year, I have come to London to live..."
0:08:41 > 0:08:45"Dear Sir, Mr John Gibson suggested that I should write to you.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49"I would be most grateful if you would bear my name in mind, but not only..."
0:08:49 > 0:08:52"Dear Mr Evans, Would you please grant me an interview
0:08:52 > 0:08:54"with regard to some broadcasting in the future?"
0:08:54 > 0:08:58"Margaret John, audition report.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00"General remarks.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04"Bit older than her looks. Restful, can't sound nasty.
0:09:04 > 0:09:05"B."
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Maggie's persistence paid off and, in 1963,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14she was cast opposite Tom Bell in the television drama The Stag.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- Hello, Bronwen.- Hello, Dai.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- You remember John James?- Yeah.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Yeah, I remember John. How are you, Johnny?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Oh, pretty well. How are they treating you, kid?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30All right. Mustn't grumble.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35For Maggie, the years spent learning her trade onstage paid off on screen.
0:09:35 > 0:09:43She'd learnt a lot of the craft from the Landore players and the amateur scene in general.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45You got frightened, didn't you?
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Did I?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50You thought I was in love with you and you'd have to marry me.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54- Well, everyone kept on dropping hints.- I didn't.- No, I know.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56All those were live shows, you see.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59No such thing, no luxury like, "Let's have another shot at that."
0:09:59 > 0:10:02And there she was, always absolutely on the ball.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06You got married in the end, though, didn't you?
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Oh, yeah. In the end.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10And it didn't work out.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13That's right. Didn't work out.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Well, then. In that case, it all worked out for the best, didn't it?
0:10:17 > 0:10:21A lot of the actors and actresses in those days had come from the stage
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and were quite capable of doing things live.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Very difficult, though, when people like Brian Blessed in Z Cars
0:10:27 > 0:10:29would fart in the middle of a live scene.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32But people just had to carry on regardless.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Before long, Maggie was making regular appearances in popular shows
0:10:42 > 0:10:45such as Z Cars and The Troubleshooters.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Do you want us out?
0:10:52 > 0:10:53Don't be so soft.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Grace, the whole thing will be carefully landscaped.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02How do you landscape £30 million worth of equipment?
0:11:02 > 0:11:03Alec!
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Margaret spoke beautifully.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08So she was very, very well-suited
0:11:08 > 0:11:12for playing tidy roles, middle-class roles.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15Look, it's not just a matter of preferring a tree to a pipeline.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Isn't it? Oh, come on!
0:11:17 > 0:11:20A refinery'll cover a few hundred acres.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24It won't cover every blade of grass in Morgannwg.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26- All right, they're ugly.- Hideous.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28- Now, listen...- Hideous!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35In 1967, Maggie suffered the tragic loss
0:11:35 > 0:11:38of her older sister Mair to cancer.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Suddenly, her nephew Chris was left without a mother.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Both her and my grandmother really saved me, after my mother died.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55My father died also when I was quite young.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00And she effectively became my adopted mother after my own mother died.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02And we were very, very close.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06And it was a very, very supportive family environment,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10full of laughter, full of warmth, full of love.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13And that's what made her.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15And that's what made her the person she was
0:12:15 > 0:12:18and made her give the things that she did to other people.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Maggie was balancing her family responsibilities
0:12:23 > 0:12:26with an increasingly busy professional life.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33She was now appearing in some of the most iconic
0:12:33 > 0:12:36television series of the time.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39It was an age with a constant turn-out of drama.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42You know, police shows, Z Cars became Softly, Softly.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46All the soaps, she was in all of them.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49- Mrs Owen?- Yes.- Is your son in?
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- Well, who is it? - We're police officers.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56It was just a normal part of life to see her appear on television.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Emergency - Ward 10, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Softly, Softly.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03All those early television series that she used to be in.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I barely sleep, you see. Not any more.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- Why, Mrs Owen? - Because I'm worried sick.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09MAN SPEAKS WELSH
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- About your son? - Yes, I'm afraid for him.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- SPEAKS WELSH - Oh, belt up!
0:13:18 > 0:13:20By the late 60s,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24Maggie was appearing alongside leading men like Jack Warner,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27the most famous TV policeman of the time,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31and Patrick Troughton, who played a well-known doctor.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36She was in all of them, but as a guest.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39She was there for one or two weeks, or slightly longer.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I've been given this address and your name
0:13:41 > 0:13:44in connection with the receiving of stolen goods.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47- Would you mind repeating that, Mr? - Crawford, Detective Sergeant.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50You used to do one a series, you know, all the series.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53You'd turn up, you'd do an episode.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55And you just got to know everybody,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59and it was lovely. It was like coming back to family, in a way.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03The disappointing thing is that she didn't achieve her major breakthrough,
0:14:03 > 0:14:05a series in which, you know,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10she could have dominated and developed a much fuller persona.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14The 31st October 1972 was a momentous day for Maggie.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19Like thousands of other Welsh rugby fans, she was enthralled
0:14:19 > 0:14:24when Llanelli took on the mighty All Blacks and won.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27What a tremendous moment for Llanelli!
0:14:29 > 0:14:33What she couldn't have known was that this would be
0:14:33 > 0:14:35the day she found true love.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38I met him right at the end of '72,
0:14:38 > 0:14:43the night Llanelli beat the All Blacks 9-3.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47He was quite drunk. And it was a brief meeting.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50And they subsequently met again for a date.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Ben Thomas was a professional violinist.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57He worked with some of the greats. I mean, he worked with Sinatra.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00He played first viola for when Sinatra came over,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03and he toured with Sinatra in Europe.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08At the age of 45, Maggie had found her soulmate.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13She and Ben were married on the 8th of January 1975.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17The couple settled down together in a flat overlooking Hampstead Heath.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Maggie had found happiness in her private life.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25But most of her screen roles at the time were tragic ones.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Oh God, I was always weeping and wailing over people and being
0:15:29 > 0:15:34very emotional, and very restrained emotion a lot of the time, you know.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37And a lot of the serious parts that she used to have
0:15:37 > 0:15:40involved being an accident victim, heavily covered in make-up.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Although she used to quite enjoy those, she used to say,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46"I wish I could do something funny every now and again,"
0:15:46 > 0:15:49because she always did have a talent to make people laugh.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54She was always funny. She was always full of anecdotes. She loved comedy.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58She loved everybody from Jackie Mason to Dave Allen and Eric Morecambe.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01She loved the American sitcoms.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03She loved the one-liners.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06She used to keep books of notes when she used to hear something funny
0:16:06 > 0:16:09and then repeat them ad infinitum to people.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15In 1975, Maggie got the chance to show off her flair for comedy,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19in a series of sketches with impressionist Mike Yarwood.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25The funniest one of all was she played Queen Elizabeth I
0:16:25 > 0:16:28to Mike Yarwood's Walter Raleigh,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31who he played in the style of Eric Morecambe.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Evening, all. - Welcome, Sir Morecambe.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Do you realise that England is near to defeat?
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Don't blame me, blame Don Revie.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:16:41 > 0:16:44He never takes one player from Luton.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- Have you brought me a gift from abroad?- I have, indeed, kind sir.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I have brought you these.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:16:51 > 0:16:53They are King Edwards.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Until the day she died, she said that she still felt
0:16:56 > 0:16:59as though she had worked with Eric Morecambe.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01You have returned just in time.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I have some very, very bad news.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07Don't tell me little Ernie's under there!
0:17:07 > 0:17:08No! Worse than that.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11They're not bringing The Golden Shot back, are they?
0:17:11 > 0:17:15No! The Spaniards are invading us and I need ships.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17Have you still got the Golden Hind?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Yes, but it's OK if I don't sit down.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25Maggie's first foray into comedy would be short-lived.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28In 1978, she was cast in her biggest straight role,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32in a long-running soap opera filmed in Birmingham.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Good afternoon, Mrs Morton.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Good afternoon. Have we met before?
0:17:44 > 0:17:48No, but Dr Butterworth told me you're his only patient who always turns up on the dot.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53Well, the Crossroads part gave her a good few years of stability
0:17:53 > 0:17:55as far as work was concerned, you know,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58rather than doing lots and lots of small jobs.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Oh, after only a very short time here,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I've decided to automatically log every appointment
0:18:03 > 0:18:06half an hour forward, except for people like you.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It meant a lot to her because, of course,
0:18:08 > 0:18:11she became part of a team, for a period of time.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And, when members of the cast got married, for example,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17all the other members of the cast went to the wedding.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21They spent time together during other social occasions.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26And, you know, she was very, very fond of Noele Gordon and Kathy Staff from those years.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32But, just as Maggie was finding stability in her professional life,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35her personal life fell apart.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Ben was suddenly diagnosed with cancer of the kidneys
0:18:39 > 0:18:41and was hospitalised.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44She used to have to finish rehearsals at about 5 o'clock,
0:18:44 > 0:18:48get the train to London, spend the night at the hospital with Ben.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Get the first train back to Birmingham in the morning
0:18:52 > 0:18:54and carry on with rehearsals, recording.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57It was all very quick. We had no idea.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03And diagnosis to death was ten days.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05It was ghastly.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08I mean, it was a great tragedy, you know.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10And it took her a long, long time to get over it.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14In fact, I don't know whether she ever did get over it, quite honestly.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Ben was always with her, you know.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21She wore what had been his watch for pretty much the rest of her life.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24He was always there in conversation.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28We never forgot him. He was such a big character.
0:19:28 > 0:19:35But there were so many happy memories and so much fun, I can't tell you.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39There was a lot of laughter involved and it was great.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42But, um...
0:19:42 > 0:19:4631 years ago and the knife still goes in sometimes, you know.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56After Ben's death, Maggie threw herself into her work.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Oh dear, look at the time!
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I usually put up a couple of dinners for Bryn and Hugh about now.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07From 1983 on, she appeared regularly in one of Wales' best loved series,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11playing housekeeper to Nerys Hughes' district nurse.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13She was never the prima donna.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14Never moods or, you know,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17"I can't go on, this is too much."
0:20:17 > 0:20:20It was always bang on time in the morning.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23All the disciplines, no problem.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26But carried with ease and poise, elan.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28She was just a joy to work with.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33My husband put on the gloves and went wading in for the rest of them.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Come them back down,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37the bosses remembered some faces better than most.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Black till the day he died.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Grabbing for jobs, anything he could lay his hands to.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47For Maggie, this was the latest in a long line of maternal roles
0:20:47 > 0:20:49that had come to define her career.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53She was almost about to inherit the mantle of Rachel Thomas,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55the Welsh mam.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00She was cursed, in a sense, by that kind of role.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Nothing like the wicked Maggie we know now.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08She was always the girl next door, the decent type, the goody.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11And she played those well, of course.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15But, in the green room, off camera, she was, as always,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19what we now know her to be - wicked.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24Maggie got a chance to show off her wicked humour in 1999.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26At the age of 73,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30she appeared in a new comedy set in the South Wales valleys.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37You don't think it might be them, do you, Richard?
0:21:37 > 0:21:41- Them?- Aliens.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43They might not be like us.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47They, they might be like big... er, octopuses.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Perhaps that's why the knocking is so quiet.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54They may be tapping on the door with their testicles.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02Maggie played the key role of archetypal Welsh mother Elsie Hepplewhite.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05She was a pleasure to work with as an actress.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09She had a twinkle in her eye.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12She would actually talk to you and listen to you,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14which a lot of actors don't.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18They're just waiting for their cue, you know.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19But Maggie didn't.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Maggie was an experienced actress who actually knew the business of acting.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Your son is Richard Hepplewhite the murderer, isn't he?
0:22:28 > 0:22:32- Ex-murderer.- Axe murderer?!- No! Ex.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35He used to be a murderer but he's given it up.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39- He's got agoraphobia. - Frightened of spiders, is he?
0:22:39 > 0:22:40No! Frightened of going out, he is.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43In case spiders get him, I expect.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46She's called Mam, and a mam she is.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49But we wanted to give her some sort of edge
0:22:49 > 0:22:52so we gave her this history of being an erotic dancer.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55And we also gave her a sort of, um...
0:22:55 > 0:23:00er... a frisson of sexual libertarianism.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Young girls today, they're too fussy, they are.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08I never turned any man down, not as long as he was clean and tidy.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Yeah, right, all right, Mam.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Once in a blue moon she'd say, "Ooh, that's a bit..."
0:23:14 > 0:23:15But we'd convince her.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Well, we didn't have to convince her, we'd just say to her,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21"You say it, Maggie, and you're going to get a big laugh."
0:23:21 > 0:23:23And she, being a sort of old ham,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27would look for the big laugh, sort of thing, and get it, you know.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36- Oh, look, Richard.- What's that, Mam?
0:23:36 > 0:23:38This young girl here in this magazine.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41She's only 19, she comes from Norwich.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Annabelle, her name is, and she likes animals.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50She's got a cat and she shaved it to make her boyfriend happy.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55But she really, really enjoyed that.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57She enjoyed the people she worked with.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00She enjoyed the fun that that gave to people
0:24:00 > 0:24:04and she enjoyed the fact that people told her how much she made them laugh,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07how much the programme made them laugh.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12It was a tremendous irony of someone who has a distinguished,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14if rather unfulfilled,
0:24:14 > 0:24:19professional career as an actress finally achieves fulfilment,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23in the last decade or so of her life, in a completely different persona.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Because she becomes, you know, a really great,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28outstanding comic actress.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31High Hopes ran for six series,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35making Maggie one of Wales' best loved comic actresses.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39But, a year short of her 80th birthday, she was cast in a role
0:24:39 > 0:24:43that would show the whole of Britain what she could do.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46I do remember when we were casting Gavin & Stacey,
0:24:46 > 0:24:52and we had this character of Doris, the next-door neighbour,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55who was a little bit rude, and
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Chris Gernon, our director, said,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00"I know exactly the actress to play that part."
0:25:00 > 0:25:01"It's Maggie John."
0:25:01 > 0:25:04We're having a fish supper later. Fancy joining us?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Oh, I would love that. Are you sure?
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Course! You don't want to sit in on your own.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Hey, stop it, you! You're a married man now.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17Although, if you are interested in that sort of thing, you know,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I'm very open-minded,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21and discreet. OK?
0:25:24 > 0:25:29She could get away with things that, normally, people would find quite vulgar and distasteful.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30Not with Maggie,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33because she had the big flappy eyes and the innocence
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and a way with saying these extraordinary lines
0:25:36 > 0:25:38in a way as if she was reading from the Bible.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41It was a fantastic quality.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45And, thanks to directors who brought that out in her,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48she understood old Mae West's line, you know,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50"When I'm good, I'm very good.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53"But when I'm bad, I'm better."
0:25:53 > 0:25:55- All right, there you go. - Thanks, Gav.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Now, you sure you don't want to come in for a coffee?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Nah, I better get back.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03All right, love.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Well, you know where I am.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11People seemed to like Doris because she's rude.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13I think that's why, don't you?
0:26:13 > 0:26:17It's because she's rude and everybody likes somebody being rude.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Chillax, Bryn. Get a beer down you. I'm not going to stir things up.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Oh! Thanks, Dor. I appreciate it.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Jean.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34Coming to comedy so late has been a revelation for me, actually,
0:26:34 > 0:26:39because I wasn't aware how important comedy is to people.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Ordinary punters out there who...
0:26:41 > 0:26:46I get it now and they say, "Oh God, you know, all we need is a good laugh, you know.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50"Life's too miserable anyway. So a good laugh is a tonic for us."
0:26:50 > 0:26:52And you know the effect it's had on people.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56And when people see you, and the minute they see you, they smile.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58And that is lovely, you know.
0:26:58 > 0:27:03I always watch you on the telly and I love you cos you fantastic!
0:27:03 > 0:27:07- Bless your heart. That's very nice of you.- Marvellous.- Thank you very much.
0:27:09 > 0:27:10Bye.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12WOMAN TALKS INAUDIBLY
0:27:16 > 0:27:24In January 2011, Maggie fell ill and was admitted to Singleton Hospital.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30But she was only really ill for the last two weeks or so of her life.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33And, up until then, she was still Maggie.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37She was furious that Andy Murray didn't win the Australian Open.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39She wanted to know how the Swans were doing.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41She knew how important that was to me.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45I'd always get a phone call five minutes after the match had finished.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48Very, very keen follower of Wales rugby as well.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50If she'd have had a tattoo,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54it would have probably been of Shane Williams, I would think.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04The actress Margaret John, described as a national treasure,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06has died at the age of 84.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08One tribute today said she was a Welsh icon.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11She had a career that spanned 60 years.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16In her final hours, Maggie had told a close friend,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18"I want to tell you something.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21"I've had a great life."
0:28:21 > 0:28:22I think she'll be remembered a lot
0:28:22 > 0:28:24for the things that she did
0:28:24 > 0:28:25when she was younger.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27But I do think she'll be remembered
0:28:27 > 0:28:30for being a dirty old woman in Gavin & Stacey!
0:28:30 > 0:28:32A saucy old lady!
0:28:36 > 0:28:39Maggie's funeral service closed with a song
0:28:39 > 0:28:42her husband Ben had once played,
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:52 > 0:28:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk