Editing Jeillo Edwards

{{Short description|Sierra Leonean actress (1942–2004)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Jeillo Edwards
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1942|09|23}}
| birth_place        = [[Freetown]], Sierra Leone
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|2004|7|02|1942|09|23}}
| death_place        = London, England
| othername          = 
| nationality        = Sierra Leonean
| alma_mater         = [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama]]
| occupation         = Actress
| yearsactive        = 1972–2003
| spouse             = Edmund Clottey
| domesticpartner    = 
| children           = 3
| website            = 
}}

'''Jeillo Edwards''' (23 September 1942 – 2 July 2004) was a Sierra Leonean actress, who is notable in the history of black actors in Britain.  She was the first woman of African descent to study drama at London's [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeillo Edwards |website= The Guardian |date= 27 July 2004 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/jul/27/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries |access-date=2022-05-26 |last1= White |first1= Robin }}</ref>  She went on to be one of the first black actresses to be cast in a mainstream UK television drama series – ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'',<ref name=Ledger>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jeillo-edwards-6165141.html|first=Fiona|last=Ledger|title=Jeillo Edwards: Good-humoured cast matriarch on television and BBC radio|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=21 July 2004|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507013054/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jeillo-edwards-6165141.html|archivedate=7 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and for more than four decades performed on British television, radio, stage and films.<ref name=Stage>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2004/09/jeillo-edwards/|title=Jeillo Edwards : Obituaries|first=Patrick|last=Newley|newspaper=[[The Stage]]|date=27 September 2004|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507012035/https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2004/09/jeillo-edwards/|archivedate=7 May 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Biography==
Jeillo Angela Doris Edwards<ref name=White>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/arts/news/obituary/0,12723,1269841,00.html|first=Robin|last=White|title=Jeillo Edwards – African character actor whose range shone on the BBC World Service|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 July 2004}}</ref> was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, one of six children, and she attended the [[Annie Walsh Memorial School]].<ref name=Ledger />

Edwards moved to England in the late 1950s and studied at the [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama]]. She began performing at the age of four, reading from the Bible at her church.  She was well known for her distinctive voice and imperious enunciation. She featured on the [[BBC World Service]] for Africa, which was broadcast in the UK.  She became popular in the United Kingdom, appearing on television, where she was the first black woman to appear on British television as well as being the first African to appear on ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' in 1972. She also appeared on television dramas such as ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'', ''[[The Bill]]'' and ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''. She performed on British television, radio, stage and films for more than four decades.<ref name=Stage /><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC World Service - Come Inside, Jeillo Edwards |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03772ww |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=BBC |date=22 July 1998 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Edwards appeared in cameo roles in many British television comedy programmes, including ''[[The League of Gentlemen (comedy)|The League of Gentlemen]]'', ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]'', ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', ''[[Black Books]]'', ''[[Spaced]]'' and ''[[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]]'', in which she had been planned to appear in the second series before her death.

As well as acting she was a [[school governor]] and owned a restaurant called Auntie J's in [[Brixton]].<ref name=White />

In the early 1970s, she married a Ghanaian, Edmund Clottey, and they had a daughter and two sons.<ref name=BBC>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3880165.stm|title=Sierra Leone star dies|first=Alice|last=Martin|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=9 July 2004}}</ref>

Jeillo Edwards died in London on 2 July 2004, at the age of 61. She had suffered chronic kidney problems.<ref name=Stage /><ref name=White />

==Actress==
*2003: ''[[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]]''   .... Nurse (1 episode, 2003)
*2003: ''[[Murder Investigation Team (TV series)|Murder Investigation Team]]''   .... Agnes Welsh (1 episode, 2003)
*2003: ''[[Murder in Mind (TV series)|Murder in Mind]]''   .... Phyllis (1 episode, 2003)
*2002: ''[[Dirty Pretty Things (film)|Dirty Pretty Things]]''   .... Hospital Cleaning Lady
*2002: ''[[Anansi (film)|Anansi]]''   .... Aunt Vera
*2001: ''[[Absolutely Fabulous]]''   .... Jeillo (1 episode, 2001)
*2001: ''[[Sam's Game (TV series)|Sam's Game]]''   .... Mumma (1 episode, 2001)
*2001: ''[[Spaced]]''   .... Tim's Benefit Clerk (1 episode, 2001)
*2000: ''[[Black Books]]''    .... Midwife (1 episode, 2000)
*2000: ''[[The Thing About Vince]]''   .... Mrs. Cuffy (2 episodes, 2000)
*2000: ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]''   .... Yvonne (1 episode, 2000)
*2000: ''[[Lenny Blue#Series 1 (2000)|Tough Love]]''   (TV) .... Irate Woman
*1999: ''[[Red Dwarf]]''   .... Second Ground Controller (1 episode, 1999)
*1998: ''[[A Rather English Marriage (TV series)|A Rather English Marriage]]''   (TV) .... Sister
*1998: ''[[Babes in the Wood (TV series)|Babes in the Wood]]''   .... Nigerian Lady (1 episode, 1998)
*1998: ''[[In Exile (TV series)|In Exile]]''    .... Mother (1 episode, 1998)
*1997: ''[[Holding On (TV series)|Holding On]]''   .... Aunt Gaynor (5 episodes, 1997)
*1997: ''[[Paris, Brixton]]''   .... Landlady
*1996: ''[[Beautiful Thing (film)|Beautiful Thing]]''    .... Rose
*1994: ''[[Pat and Margaret]]''    (TV) .... Tea Bar Lady
*1994: ''[[A Skirt Through History]]''    .... Mary Prince (1 episode, 1994)
*1993: ''[[The Line, the Cross & the Curve]]''   .... Dancer 'Eat the Music'
*1992: ''[[Screen One]]''   .... Mrs. Jessop (1 episode, 1992)
*1989: ''[[Sob Sisters]]''    .... Woman with dog (1 episode, 1989)
*1989: ''[[Casualty (TV series)|Casualty]]''    .... Grandmother / ... (3 episodes, 1989–1997)
*1988: ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]''    .... Lady Cashier (1 episode, 1988)
*1988: ''[[London's Burning (TV series)|London's Burning]]''    .... Mrs. Jones (1 episode, 1988)
*1987: ''[[The Bill]]''    .... Clarice Paine / Mary Mullen / Mrs Ambrose / Mrs Peake / Mrs Konchella / Mrs Keel / Woman at Counter (7 episodes, 1987–2000)
*1987: ''[[Elphida]]''   (TV) .... Somali woman
*1987: ''[[Scoop (1987 film)|Scoop]]''    (TV) .... Mrs. Jackson
*1985: ''[[Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense]]''   .... Landlady (1 episode, 1985)
*1983: ''[[Maybury (TV series)|Maybury]]''    .... Mrs. Galsworthy (1 episode, 1983)
*1982: ''[[Love Is Old, Love Is New]]''   (TV) .... Ward maid
*1981: ''[[Memoirs of a Survivor (film)|Memoirs of a Survivor]]''   .... Woman at Newsstand
*1979: ''[[Empire Road]]''   ... Mary O'Fili (1 episode, 1979)
*1979: ''[[Room Service (1979 TV series)|Room Service]]''   TV series .... Mrs. McGregor (unknown episodes)
*1978: ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]''    .... West Indian Woman (1 episode, 1978)
*1978: ''[[Betzi]]''    (TV) .... Sarah
*1976: ''[[Centre Play]]''    .... Nurse (2 episodes, 1976–1977)
*1975: ''[[Play for Today]]''    .... Lucy / ... (2 episodes, 1975–1980)
*1975: ''[[Angels (TV series)|Angels]]''    .... Mrs. Jobo (2 episodes, 1975–1980)
*1972: ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]''    .... Mrs. Morgan (1 episode, 1972)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0250087}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jeillo}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama]]
[[Category:Sierra Leone Creole people]]
[[Category:Sierra Leonean film actors]]
[[Category:Sierra Leonean emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Black British actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Sierra Leonean actors]]
[[Category:20th-century Sierra Leonean women]]
[[Category:21st-century Sierra Leonean actors]]
[[Category:Sierra Leonean actresses]]
[[Category:People from Freetown]]