Meg Johnson (actress)

"Margaret Mary Foster" redirects here. For the New Zealand netball player, see Margaret Foster.

Margaret Mary Foster (30 September 1936 – 1 July 2023), better known as Meg Johnson, was an English actress. Over a career spanning almost six decades, she became known for her soap opera roles as Eunice Gee in Coronation Street, Brigid McKenna in Brookside, and Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale. She also appeared in musicals including Chicago and Follies.

Meg Johnson
Johnson in Emmerdale
Born	Margaret Mary Green (1936-09-30)30 September 1936 Manchester, England
Died	1 July 2023(2023-07-01) (aged 86) Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–2020
Spouses	Hibbert Johnson ​ ​ (m. 1956, divorced)​ Charles Foster ​ ​ (m. 1981; died 2023)​
Children	2

Early life

Johnson was born Margaret Mary Green in Manchester on 30 September 1936 to Eleanor (née James), a former bus conductor, and Stan Green, a brewery foreman.^[1] Johnson was evacuated to Bolton during World War II and made her stage debut there, aged six, singing and dancing at the Grand theatre. After developing asthma, she began singing lessons to improve her breathing.^[2][1]

Career

Johnson's first professional acting role came in May 1961, when she was 24, in a television series titled Here's Harry. She continued in the show until 1964. Subsequent roles included Family Solicitor (1961) and The Referees (1961).^[3] Johnson first appeared in a few episodes of the ITV television soap opera Coronation Street in 1972 as a tipsy woman and in 1976 as Brenda Holden, before being cast as Eunice Gee in 1981, a role she would play with recurring appearances until 1999.^[2]

In the 1980s, Johnson worked with Victoria Wood, appearing in several episodes of her shows Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, as well as Victoria Wood Presents.^[4] In 1997, Johnson appeared in the West End theatre revival of Chicago as Mama Morton.^[5] She also appeared in theatre productions of Follies and Gypsy.^[2]

From 2000 to 2003, Johnson appeared in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside as Brigid McKenna until the soap's cancellation.^[6][7] Later in 2003, Johnson was cast as Pearl Ladderbanks in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, although due to the number of episodes per week of Brookside being reduced in its later months, her last appearances as Brigid aired after she had already been seen on screen as Pearl. Johnson played the role of Pearl until March 2020. ^[8]

Personal life

In 1956, Johnson married Hibbert Johnson. The marriage produced a son and a daughter, but later ended in divorce.^[9]

Johnson was married to English actor and ITV Granada presenter Charles Foster from 1981 until his death on 23 February 2023.^[2][10][11]

Death

Johnson died at a care home in Rochdale called the Willows on 1 July 2023, aged 86.^[12][13] In a statement, her family said that she "had dementia for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless".^[14][15] Emmerdale paid tribute to her on its social media accounts, describing Johnson as "a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye" and added that she would be "greatly missed by everyone who knew her".^[16]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961–1964	Here's Harry	Unknown	Recurring role; 5 episodes
1961	Family Solicitor	Mary Carslake	3 episodes
	The Referees	Waitress	Television film
1964	Comedy Playhouse	Office girl	Episode: "The Mascot"
1972	Country Matters	Barmaid	Episode: "Crippled Bloom"
	Coronation Street	Tipsy woman	1 episode
1973	Nearest and Dearest	Miss Pringle	Episode: "Get Out of That"
1974	How's Your Father?	Alice Henthorn	Episode: "Who Was That Lady?"
1975	The Life of Riley	Betty Butcher	Episode: "Uneasy Riders"
	Play for Today	Vera	Episode: "Wednesday Love"
1976	Coronation Street	Brenda Holden	4 episodes
	Crown Court	Tricia Dibden	2 episodes
1976–1977	Yanks Go Home	Phoebe Sankey	Lead role; 13 episodes
1978	Strangers	Barmaid	Episode: "Paying Guests"
1978–1979	Empire Road	Mrs. Ridley	Starring role; 4 episodes
1979	Two Up, Two Down	Woman in precinct	Episode: "What's Yours Is Mine"
	Mother Nature's Bloomers	Various	All 6 episodes
1980	Watch All Night	Dianne Eveling	Episode: "Night People"
	Strangers	Woman in suburbs	Episode: "Armed and Dangerous"
1980–1981	The Good Companions	Effie	2 episodes
1981–1982, 1999	Coronation Street	Eunice Gee	Regular role; 72 episodes
1981	The Olympian Way	Violet	2 episodes
1985–1987	Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV	Various	4 episodes
1986	The Practice	Mary O'Dowd	2 episodes
1989	Split Ends	Mrs. Emery	Episode: "Tangles"
	Victoria Wood	Connie	Episode: "Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah"
		Saundra	Episode: "Over to Pam"
1993	Taggart	Mrs. Jeffrey	Episode: "Fatal Inheritance"
	Lovejoy	Maureen	Episode: "Ducking and Diving"
	Chris Cross	Nurse Garbo	Episode: "It's a Jungle in There"
1995–1996	Hollyoaks	Aunt Rose	2 episodes
1998–1999	The Wild House	Aunt Yvette	Regular role
1999	Rab C. Nesbitt	Speaker of the House	Episode: "Commons"
2000	Peak Practice	Freda Norton	Episode: "Turning Tides"
2000–2003	Brookside	Brigid McKenna	Regular role
2000	The Thing About Vince...	Sylvia	Series 1: Episode 3
2003–2020	Emmerdale	Pearl Ladderbanks	Regular role; 1,065 episodes
2011	Emmerdale: Paddy and Marlon's Big Night In		Spin-off film
Sources:[6][17]