Susan I. M. Jameson (born 13 August 1941) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Jessie Seaton in When the Boat Comes In, Esther Lane in the BBC crime drama series New Tricks, and portraying Great Aunt Loretta in the CBeebies show Grandpa in My Pocket. She has also extensively performed in radio, notably voicing Mrs Wibbsey opposite the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker in a series of Doctor Who audio dramas. She also voiced audiobooks for all 52 novels by Catherine Cookson.
Career Jameson began acting at the age of the 10 when she enrolled at a speech and drama school in Birmingham; she broke into professional acting in the late 1950's, working for various repertory theatre companies based in Birmingham, Glasgow, Coventry and Cheltenham respectively. In 1962, she made her television debut appearing in an episode of Dixon of Dock Green. The following year she secured for her first major television role as Myra Booth (née Dickinson) in Coronation Street, featuring in 52 episodes between 1963 and 1964, she was offered a further two year contract to continue with part, but she subsequently declined.Jameson reprised the role for a brief 8 episode stint in early 1968. During this period, Jameson appeared in a number of television shows including The Likely Lads, No Hiding Place, Z-Cars, Strange Report, UFO, The Doctors, Softly Softly: Task Force and Space 1999.
In 1969, she appeared as Kate in the first series of Take Three Girls, which follows the lives of three young women who share a bedsit in West Kensington. In 1974, she featured in the final series of Special Branch, as Detective Sergeant Mary Holmes. Between 1976 to 1981, she played Jessie Seaton (later Jessie Ashton) in all four series of the period drama When the Boat Comes In, appearing alongside her husband James Bolam. In 1980, she appeared as prospective Labour candidate Christine Forster in the mini-series To Serve Them All My Days. She later reprised her role as Kate in Take Three Women in 1982 (the follow up to Take Three Girls) which reunited the original characters Victoria, Kate and Avril after going their separate ways in the intervening years. She also appeared in various sitcoms including The Upchat Line, Rings on Their Fingers, Hi-de-Hi!, Home to Roost, Hell's Bells, Never The Twain and All in Good Faith. In 1987, she played Aunt Em in the children's serial The Secret World of Molly Flint for TVS, two years later she appeared in an episode of Boon as Judy Shelley, a mentally ill mother who seeks refuge at Woodcote Park.
Jameson has continued to appear in supporting roles on television and film, appearing in Casualty, Woof!, Heartbeat, The Girl (1996), The Bill, Two Days, Nine Lives (2001), Dalziel and Pascoe, Holby City, Doctors, Grandpa in My Pocket, Him, Midsomer Murders and All Creatures Great and Small. Between 2003 and 2013, she appeared in New Tricks as Esther Lane, the long-suffering wife of ex-Detective Inspector Brian Lane (played by Alun Armstrong), she featured in ten series before she departed along with Armstrong in 2013. In 2009, she was one of five actresses portraying Queen Elizabeth II in the docu-drama series The Queen, which charted pivotal years in the monarch's life.Five actors to play the Queen in 'pivotal' Channel 4 drama The Guardian. 27 January 2009
Personal life She is married to fellow actor James Bolam, with whom she has appeared in numerous episodes of various television series, including The Likely Lads, When The Boat Comes In, New Tricks and Grandpa in My Pocket, as well appearing on stage on a number of occasions including Macbeth and A Fool and His Money They have lived in Wisborough Green, West Sussex for more than 30 years.
Jameson has also worked as a writer, including three episodes of The Hoobs, and the semi-autobiographical Pony Tails, a collection of four short stories based on the ponies she and her family have owned over the years. Jameson is a patron of the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre and president of the ABC Animal Sanctuary in West Chiltington and the Cat and Rabbit Rescue Centre in Sidlesham. She has also been involved in a number of animal charities, including the Hawk and Owl Trust, Compassion in World Farming and Merrylegs Assisted Riding, where she latterly helped young disabled horse riders at Brinsbury College in Pulborough.
Selected filmography
TV and film +Year TitleRoleNotes1962Dixon of Dock GreenJessie KennedyEpisode: "Cash and Carry"1963–1968Coronation Street Myra Booth (née Dickinson)60 episodes1964CrossroadsPatricia Walker3 episodesThe Likely LadsPatEpisode: "Double Date"1965No Hiding PlaceDana ClarkEpisode: "A Menace to the Public"1965–1975Z-CarsWPC Nelson6 episodes1968Last of the Long-haired BoysBimbaFilm1969Strange ReportMoiraEpisode: "REPORT 8319 GRENADE - What price change?"1969–1970Take Three Girls Kate12 episodes1970Armchair TheatreJeanEpisode: "Say Goodnight to Your Grandma"The DoctorsPamela Renshaw8 episodesThe Wednesday PlayJennyEpisode: "Rest in Peace, Uncle Fred"1971I, MonsterDianeFilmUFOAnne StoneEpisode: "The Sound of Silence"1973Softly, Softly: Task ForceWDC Joan BrayEpisode: "The Loud Mouth"1974Special BranchDS Mary Holmes4 episodes1975Space: 1999Professor Juliet MackieEpisode: "Dragon's Domain"1976–1981When the Boat Comes InJessie Ashton (née Seaton)30 episodes1978International VelvetTV InterviewerFilmThe Upchat ConnectionMaggie8 episodesWodehouse PlayhouseBella Mae JobsonEpisode: "The Editor Regrets"1980Rings on Their FingersJennifer2 episodes1980–1981To Serve Them All My Days Christine Forster 5 episodes1982Take Three Women Kate3 episodes1983Hi-de-Hi!Jenny MaitlandEpisode: "The Marriage Settlement"1985Terry on the FenceTerry's mumFilm1986Hell's BellsEmma Hethercote6 episodesHome to RoostJudith TrevelyanEpisode: "Any Questions?"1986–2023 CasualtyHarriet / Samantha Grieve / Sheila Falon / Audrey Rinsler / Freya Hall7 episodes1987Never the TwainDr. CollinsEpisode: "Feed a Cold"The Secret World of Molly FlintAunt Em5 episodes1988All in Good FaithEmma Lambe6 episodes1989Boon Judith ShelleyEpisode: "Sickness and Health"1991Woof!Mrs. Varley1 episode1993–2009HeartbeatJennifer Bradshaw / Edwina Lambert / Sonia Rumbold4 episodes1996The GirlDaisy LoamTV movie1997The BillBeverley HarperEpisode: "An Englishman's Home"2001Two Days, Nine LivesPollyFilm2002Dalziel and PascoeAnnie PascoeEpisode: "The Unwanted"2003–2013New TricksEsther Lane54 episodes2004Holby CitySylvia CliffordEpisode: "Striking a Chord"2004–2012DoctorsLily Preston / Grace Masson / Mrs. Alice Devene3 episodes2009The QueenQueen Elizabeth IIEpisode: "The Rivals"2009–2014Grandpa in My PocketGreat Aunt Loretta36 episodes2012Holby CityAbigail DuttonEpisode: "Hold on Me"2016HimRose3 episodes2017Midsomer Murders Germaine TroughtonEpisode: "Last Man Out"2020All Creatures Great and SmallLillian CalvertEpisode: "Andante"
Radio Date Title Role Director Station 23 August 2004 The Coast of Maine: Miss Tempy's Watchers Sarah Ann Binson Ned Chaillet BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour Drama 3 March 2005 The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch Grandmother Lu Kemp BBC Radio 3, The Wire 16 March 2005 – 6 April 2005 The Great Pursuit Cynthia Bogden Toby Swift BBC Radio 4 5 May 2005 Stone Baby Nurse Toby Swift BBC Radio 3, The Wire 6 May 2005 Claw Marks on the Curtain: The Open Window Caroline Nuttel Ned Chaillet BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour Drama 5 December 2005 – 30 December 2005 David Copperfield Peggotty / Mrs Gummidge Jeremy Mortimer BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour Drama
References
External links
Susan Jameson at Theatricila