Jean Boht, best known for playing Nellie Boswell in the sitcom Bread, has left a staggering £2.6 million in her will.
, at the age of 91 due to complications from .
Her estate, totalling £2,634,969 before liabilities, was left entirely to her daughters, Hannah Law and Jessie Stevenson, now 52 and 50, respectively.
Jean’s second husband, Carl Davis, who she married in 1970, was not included in her will, as he tragically died just six weeks earlier.
The BAFTA-winning composer, known for his work on The French Lieutenant’s Woman and the ’s Pride and Prejudice, passed away on August 3, 2023, aged 86 following a brain haemorrhage.
Jean, pictured in 2016, left a massive inheritance her two daughters in her will (Image: Getty/Wire Image)
Jean, who was also from vascular won a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of Nellie Boswell, the sharp-tongued matriarch in Bread.
She was also celebrated for roles in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Last of the Summer Wine, and Boys From The Blackstuff. Alongside her success as part of the cast of Bread, Jean also starred in Doctors, , Skins and The Bill.
Jean also portrayed the role of Doris, an older woman with dementia, in ‘s Casualty back in 2012, marking her fourth return to the soap.
She explained of the role: “You have to do the scenes three or four times and there was a lot of shouting and crying, which you have to be able to repeat at absolutely the same level. “It’s great fun but very tiring.”
Reflecting on her career in 2012, she said, “I never watched it at the time, it’s too horrendous for actors to see themselves on screen so I had no idea what it looked like.
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Jean starred in a famous hospital scene with her co-stars on Bread (Image: Getty)
“But now when I catch it, I am just astounded by how good it was and how very funny. I can understand why the public liked it so much. But then there were such a lot of lovely shows and characters around then.”
Jean’s background
Jean was born in Bebington, Merseyside, on March 6, 1932, and attended Wirral Grammar School for Girls before training at the Liverpool Playhouse.
She began her career on stage as a £1-a-week student at the Liverpool Playhouse, later performing at the Bristol Old Vic, Royal Court, and National Theatre.
Her first marriage to Bill Boht, the boss of the Ritz cinema and theatre in Birkenhead, ended due to his heavy drinking. She later said, “He was a heavy drinker and I thought if I married him I could look after him.”
Shortly after their split, she married Carl, with whom she had two daughters and three grandchildren. Jean’s family, announcing her passing, said, “It is with overwhelming sadness that we must announce that Jean Boht passed away yesterday, Tuesday, September 12.
Jean had been battling vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease with the indefatigable spirit for which she was both beloved and renowned. She was a resident at Denville Hall, the home for members of the theatrical profession.”
Jean’s career spanned decades, but it was her role as Nellie in Bread that made her a household name. First airing in May 1986, the show focused on a working-class family in inner-city Liverpool.
Nellie was the glue that held the family together, managing their lives while trying to keep her straying husband, Freddie, away from his love rival “Lilo Lil,” who she famously called a “tart.”
Despite her success, Jean admitted she didn’t watch the show when it first aired. “I never watched it at the time… But now when I catch it, I am just astounded by how good it was and how very funny.”