Felicity Kendal, 79, has spoken candidly about the profound grief she has experienced following the recent deaths of her friends and co-stars, most notably Penelope Keith. Kendal is now the sole surviving principal cast member of the beloved 1970s sitcom "The Good Life," a status she finds sobering.
"Your address book gets smaller... completely and utterly... not useless... but much smaller," Kendal told Go Explore Radio, describing how the loss of friends impacts her social circle. She likened the process of grieving to waves, acknowledging that the "tsunami" of loss can resurface unexpectedly, even on seemingly normal days.
"When you get more used to it.. on a wet day the thing is that you do is give yourself a bit of a nudge and say, 'Now look here, stop whinging about plumbing and about whatever.. maybe somebody's been slightly off with you because the sun is shining and guess what? You're here'," she explained. Kendal emphasized the importance of appreciating life, stating, "The alternative is not any fun - as far as we know. I have seen a lot of people not living and I wish they had had longer. Don't waste it."
"The Good Life," which ran for four seasons, starred Kendal alongside Penelope Keith, Richard Briers, and Paul Eddington. Kendal recalled the close familial bond the cast shared during the show's production. "On The Good Life, we were that close, we would go round to each other's house in rotation, having dinner, on the Sundays we had off," she said. "To be honest we were close like a family, like a company that has been together for years because we worked together We laughed a lot."
The cast's close connection was deeply affected by the deaths of Eddington in 1995 at age 68 and Briers in 2013 at age 79. Kendal described this period as the "beginning of it," where the group's regular gatherings ceased. "I think all three of us went into incredible depression... upset, I don't mean clinical depression.. We were just heartbroken," she said. The passing of Briers, or "Dickie," was another significant loss, leaving Kendal and Keith as the remaining female leads. "Suddenly there's no Penny and now I'm the sort of last one of the group which is a bit of a responsibility I think," Kendal reflected.
She paid tribute to Keith, describing her as a "lovely" and private person who nonetheless appreciated recognition. "Penny was very private. She absolutely appreciated recognition and people telling her she's 'good' and she did a lot of charity and she was a funny, lovely woman and one brilliant cook but she didn't go on social media and show off about what she was doing or anything. She was quite private."
Despite these losses, Kendal has no plans to retire, crediting her passion for acting with keeping her young. "Not at all! There’s a kind of relaxation in doing the work you like doing simply for the work itself. You're judged only on how you do it," she stated in a 2021 interview. She also noted that at her age, the competitive pressure in the industry lessens. "When you're younger the competition is much greater. That's quite stressful. When you get to my age there aren't so many people left, so there's less pressure."
Kendal continues to be active in the industry and is currently performing on stage at the Barbican Theatre in a new adaptation of "High Society." "If you can be working at 17 and still working at 70-something, you've made it through," she remarked.
