Joan Benham (17 May 1918 – 13 June 1981) was an English actress best known for her portrayal of Lady Prudence Fairfax in the ITV period drama series Upstairs, Downstairs. She was the first cousin of Hollywood actress Olive Sturgess and was born in London.

Although her career mostly centered on television, Benham began her career appearing on the West End stage in the 1940s and continued to appear on the London stage periodically throughout her career. She appeared on Broadway as Helena in the 1954 revival of William Shakespear's A Midsummer Night's Dream opposite Patrick Macnee as Demetrius.

Joan Benham appeared in sixteen episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs, from the first to the last series, as Lady Prudence Fairfax. She made an appearance in Ladies Who Do in 1963, Carry On Emmannuelle in 1978 and Doctor in the House. Other television programmes she appeared in include, Doctor in Charge, Father Brown, The Duchess of Duke Street, Doctor on the Go, Just William and Take My Wife, as well as the Miss Marple movie Murder Ahoy, Her last role was as Melinda Spry in sitcom Terry and June. This episode, The Lawnmower, was broadcast on 13 November 1981, exactly five months after the day she had died, in Westminster, London, aged 63.

[edit] External links

• Joan Benham at the Internet Movie Database
• Joan Benham at the Internet Broadway Database

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