Jane Lowe

{{Short description|English actress (born 1943)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|6|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Wigan, Lancashire, England

| occupation = Actress

| television = {{Plainlist|

}}

| years_active = 1967–present

}}

Jane Lowe (born 5 June 1943) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the roles of Aunt Blodwen in Lizzie Dripping (1973–1975), Mam in the BBC children's programme Jonny Briggs (1985–1987) and Monica Lindsey in the ITV drama Bad Girls (1999–2001). Throughout her career on stage and screen that has spanned over five decades, she has appeared in Coronation Street, The Bill and Doctors on numerous occasions as various characters and co-starred in the horror film The Creeping (2022).

Life and career

Lowe was born on 5 June 1943 in Wigan, Lancashire.{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe – TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jane-lowe/credits/3000461493/ |website=TV Guide |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814232048/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jane-lowe/credits/3000461493/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe – David Daly Associates |url=http://daviddaly.co.uk/wp/project/lowe-jane/ |website=David Daly Associates |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517002154/http://daviddaly.co.uk/wp/project/lowe-jane/ |url-status=live }} She began her acting career in 1967, appearing in six episodes of the ITV soap opera Crossroads as Mrs. Coburn, before making her stage debut the same year appearing in productions of The Heir and Bread and Butter at the Castle Theatre in Farnham.{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe – Theatricalia |url=https://theatricalia.com/person/6d7/jane-lowe |website=Theatricalia |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233227/https://theatricalia.com/person/6d7/jane-lowe |url-status=live }} Over the next five years, she had minor roles in drama series such as Mr. Rose, Crime Buster, Fraud Squad and Who-Dun-It. She also appeared in episodes of ITV Playhouse and ITV Sunday Night Theatre, as well as an episode of Coronation Street.{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe filmography |url=https://digiguide.tv/celebrity/Jane+Lowe/1810/ |work=Digiguide.tv |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233221/https://digiguide.tv/celebrity/Jane+Lowe/1810/ |url-status=live }} In 1972, Lowe portrayed Aunt Blodwen in an episode of Jackanory Playhouse which spawned into a spin-off series Lizzie Dripping the following year, and became Lowe's first regular acting job, portraying the character between 1973 and 1975.

Lowe maintained her acting career throughout the next decade, portraying various guest roles in several television shows before appearing in Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House as Mrs Cunliffe in 1982, and subsequently joining the cast of the 1984 BBC comedy drama Cockles as Mabel Gutteridge.{{cite web |title=Cockles – BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/545e6750c10b47aeb3691c98d3844b7a |work=BBC |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233606/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/545e6750c10b47aeb3691c98d3844b7a |url-status=live }} In 1985, Lowe began portraying Mam in the BBC children's television series Jonny Briggs, starring in both series before the show's cancellation in 1987.{{cite web |title=Jonny Briggs – BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b3b41e67b48b475db7ae832c4032a741 |work=BBC |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=20 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020125801/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b3b41e67b48b475db7ae832c4032a741 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Here's what the stars of legendary children's TV show Jonny Briggs look like today |url=https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/tv/heres-what-stars-legendary-childrens-19260896?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target |website=Examiner Live |access-date=13 August 2023 |date=15 November 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233727/https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/tv/heres-what-stars-legendary-childrens-19260896?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target |url-status=live }} In 1990, Lowe appeared in Perfect Scoundrels as Mrs. Frobisher and portrayed Toni Spuhler in an episode of the BBC2 anthology series Performance in 1992.{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe at British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/jane_lowe/ |work=British Comedy Guide |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233728/https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/jane_lowe/ |url-status=live }} In 1993, she made guest appearance in series' such as Gallowglass, May to December and Lovejoy.{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe at Plex.tv |url=https://watch.plex.tv/person/jane-lowe-2 |website=Plex.tv |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827025156/https://watch.plex.tv/person/jane-lowe-2 |url-status=live }} She also appeared in Cracker (1995) and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996). Lowe also appeared in various stage productions including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1992), The Card (1994) and My Mother Said I Never Should (1997).{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe – Our Heritage – Open Air Theatre |url=https://openairtheatreheritage.com/actors/jane-lowe/XmjM4xAAACMA-p0q |website=Regent's Park Open Air Theatre |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814233728/https://openairtheatreheritage.com/actors/jane-lowe/XmjM4xAAACMA-p0q |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe – Spotlight CV |url=https://www.spotlight.com/3599-0193-0047 |work=Spotlight |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701233927/https://www.spotlight.com/3599-0193-0047 |url-status=live }}

In 1999, Lowe joined the cast of the ITV drama Bad Girls as Monica Lindsey, a middle-aged, middle-class woman who had been sentenced to five years imprisonment for handling stolen money.{{cite web |title=Bad Girls – Full cast & crew |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/bad-girls/cast/1000286707/ |work=TV Guide |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=16 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516222905/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/bad-girls/cast/1000286707/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Jane Lowe at Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jane_lowe |work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203143450/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jane_lowe |url-status=live }} The character was released on appeal in the final episode of the first series, however Lowe briefly returned as Monica during the third series, in which she is seen having opened a halfway house for other prisoners.{{cite web |title=Monica Lindsey – Bad Girls – TV Maze |url=https://www.tvmaze.com/characters/93068/bad-girls-monica-lindsey |work=TV Maze |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814234559/https://www.tvmaze.com/characters/93068/bad-girls-monica-lindsey |url-status=live }}

Lowe has since made regular appearances in television soap operas. She has appeared in the BBC medical soap opera Doctors on seven occasions in various roles, as well as appearing in The Bill five times and Coronation Street four times.{{cite web |title=Doctors, O True Apothecary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk18k |website=BBC |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=8 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208135357/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk18k |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Doctors, A Plague on Both Your Houses |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk1fn |website=BBC |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=8 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208144416/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk1fn |url-status=live }} She also appeared in an episode of the BBC sitcom Not Going Out in 2013.{{cite web |title=Not Going Out, The House, BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03nhmwb |website=BBC |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206051242/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03nhmwb |url-status=live }} In 2022, Lowe co-starred in the horror film The Creeping.{{cite web |title=’The Creeping’ review: Dir. Jamie Hooper [FrightFest] |url=https://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2022/08/28/the-creeping-review-frightfest/ |website=The Hollywood News |access-date=13 August 2023 |archive-date=27 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827234904/https://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2022/08/28/the-creeping-review-frightfest/ |url-status=live }} For her portrayal of Lucy Blakeley, she won the award for Best Supporting Actress at the Houston Horror Film Festival.{{cite web |title=The Creeping is a solid entry into the cinema of demonic possession |url=https://www.moviejawn.com/home/2023/3/3/the-creeping-is-a-solid-entry-into-the-cinema-of-demonic-possession?format=amp |work=MovieJawn |access-date=13 August 2023 |date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814234610/https://www.moviejawn.com/home/2023/3/3/the-creeping-is-a-solid-entry-into-the-cinema-of-demonic-possession?format=amp |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=We’re thrilled to announce the wonderful Jane Lowe won BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS for her role as Lucy Blakeley at @FilmFestHouston. Congratulations Jane, much deserved for a fantastic performance. |url=https://x.com/thecreepingfilm/status/1551258856428392450?s=46&t=CEHBFLddda0eEmgDGvh-8A |work=X |access-date=13 August 2023 |date=24 July 2022 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814234607/https://twitter.com/thecreepingfilm/status/1551258856428392450?s=46&t=CEHBFLddda0eEmgDGvh-8A |url-status=live }}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1967

| Crossroads

| Mrs. Coburn

| 6 episodes

1968

| Mr. Rose

| First woman

| Episode: "The Unlucky Dip"

1968

| Crime Buster

| {{N/A|Unknown}}

| Episode: "Howzat"

1969

| Fraud Squad

| Rose

| Episode: "Anybody Here Seen Kelly?"

1969

| Who-Dun-It

| Phillipa Best

| Episode: "Crime at the Panto"

1969

| ITV Playhouse

| Bucky Branch

| Episode: "Ancient and Modern"

1971

| Coronation Street

| Barbara Bromley

| 3 episodes

1972

| ITV Sunday Night Theatre

| Mrs. Boyle

| Episode: "Whose Life Is It Anyway?"

1972

| Jackanory Playhouse

| Aunt Blodwen

| Episode: "Lizzie Dripping and the Orphans"

1973–1975

| Lizzie Dripping

| Aunt Blodwen

| Main role

1975

| Play for Today

| Norma

| Episode: "Wednesday Love"

1975

| Daft as a Brush

| Factory worker's wife

| Television film

1975

| Angels

| Beryl

| Episode: "Off Duty"

1975

| The Nearly Man

| Phyllis

| Episode: "Casualties: August 1975"

1976

| Westway

| Paula Harvey

| Main role

1976

| Coronation Street

| Doreen Thornley

| 1 episode

1977

| Play for Today

| Public relations girl

| Episode: "Spend Spend Spend"

1977

| Jubilee

| Hilde

| Episode: "Wind of Change"

1977

| Rooms

| Aunt Rose

| Recurring role

1978

| Z-Cars

| Mrs. Thomas

| Episode: "Quilley on the Spot"

1978

| Disraeli

| Charlotte de Rothschild

| Episode: "The Great Game 1858–1872"

1979

| Telford's Change

| Mary

| Episode: "The Philistines Of Sussex/Situation Vacant"

1979

| Crown Court

| Sarah Fine

| 3 episodes

1979

| The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris

| Mrs. Harris

| 5 episodes

1979

| Leave It to Charlie

| Dora Rickenbacker

| Episode: "Ole Brown Eyes"

1969

| ITV Playhouse

| Joanna

| Episode: "Casting the Runes"

1980

| Ladykillers

| Edna Baker

| Episode: "Lucky, Lucky Thirteen!"

1980

| ITV Playhouse

| Janice

| Episode: "Hands"

1980

| Life for Christine

| Headmistress

| Television film

1982

| Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House

| Mrs. Cunliffe

| Main role, 7 episodes

1984

| Cockles

| Mabel Gutteridge

| Main role

1985

| One by One

| Mrs. Younger

| Episode: "Pride of Place"

1985

| I Woke Up One Morning

| Maureen

| 1 episode

1985

| Late Starter

| Jean

| 3 episodes

1985–1987

| Jonny Briggs

| Mam

| Main role

1986

| The Bill

| Mrs. Simpson

| Episode: "Ringer"

1986

| The Practice

| Miriam Raintree

| 2 episodes

1989

| The Bill

| Debbie's mother

| Episode: "Street Games and Board Games"

1989

| Boon

| Amelia Woods

| Episode: "All in a Day's Pork"

1990

| Perfect Scoundrels

| Mrs. Frobisher

| Episode: "The Day of Jubilo"

1992

| Performance

| Toni Spuhler

| Episode: "Tales from Hollywood"

1993

| Gallowglass

| Iris

| 1 episode

1993

| May to December

| Snooty customer

| Episode: "Baby Love"

1993

| Lovejoy

| Camilla

| Episode: "A Going Concern"

1995

| Casualty

| Alice Munton

| Episode: "When All Else Fails"

1995

| Cracker

| Landlady

| Episode: "True Romance: Part 1"

1996

| Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

| Alice Baynes

| Episode: "Safe as Houses"

1996

| The Bill

| Jean Booth

| Episode: "Minding"

1997

| Wokenwell

| Alma Watling

| 1 episode

1997

| EastEnders

| Brenda

| 1 episode

1998

| The Bill

| Carol Houghton

| Episode: "The Parent Trap"

1998

| Peak Practice

| Jayne Swift

| Episode: "Once in a Lifetime"

1999

| The Blonde Bombshell

| Millicent Lake

| 1 episode

1999

| Four Fathers

| Mrs. Pagel

| 1 episode

1999–2001

| Bad Girls

| Monica Lindsey

| Main role

2000

| Heartbeat

| Mrs. Edna Bostwick

| Episode: "Child's Play"

2001

| Lies... In Love

| Nancy's mother

| Film

2001

| Down to Earth

| Lady Wharton

| 3 episodes

2001

| Doctors

| Maeve Ripley

| Episode: "Sleeping Beauty"

2002

| Crime and Punishment

| Landlady

| Television film

2002

| Judge John Deed

| Mary Hay

| Episode: "Nobody's Fool"

2003

| Silent Witness

| Enid Parkin

| Episode: "Beyond Guilt: Part 1"

2004

| Doctors

| Barbara Martin

| Episode: "Cuckoo in the Nest"

2005

| Holby City

| Joyce Harris

| Episode: "Thinking Outside the Box"

2005–2007

| Cold Blood

| Mary Osbourne

| 2 episodes

2005

| Spooks

| Fiona's mother

| Episode: "The Russian"

2006

| Housewife, 49

| Mrs Higham

| Television film

2007

| Doctors

| Cecily Langer

| Episode: "Up, Up and Away"

2008

| Holby City

| Kate Pervis

| 2 episodes

2008

| The Royal

| Mrs. Smythe

| Episode: "Against All Odds"

2009

| Hustle

| Miriam

| Episode: "Politics"

2009

| Doctors

| Elsa Scott

| 3 episodes

2010

| The Bill

| Margaret Cooper

| Episode: "Time Bomb"

2010

| Moving On

| Maureen

| Episode: "Losing My Religion"

2011

| 7 Lives

| Mary's mum

| Film

2011

| Doctors

| Mrs. Zelda Smith

| Episode: "Night Thoughts"

2013

| Doctors

| Evelyn Bowe

| Episode: "Sweet Sixteen"

2013

| Casualty

| Georgina Melbury

| Episode: "What You Believe"

2013

| Not Going Out

| Carol

| Episode: "The House"

2015

| Emmerdale

| Mrs. Biggs

| 1 episode

2015

| Doctors

| Eileen Grant

| Episode: "Injecting a Little Spice"

2017

| Doctors

| Alice Lawson

| Episode: "Magpie"

2017

| Loose Ends

| Biddy

| Short film

2018

| Casualty

| Valerie Clerk

| Episode: "Rage in Resus"

2018

| Coronation Street

| Bertha Plumtree

| 1 episode

2020

| Coronation Street

| Margaret Newsome

| 3 episodes

2022

| The Creeping

| Lucy Blakeley

| Film

colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Sources:

Stage

class="wikitable"
Year

! Title

! Role

! Venue

1967

| The Heir

| Margherita

| Castle Theatre, Farnham

1967

| Bread and Butter

| Miriam (butter)

| Castle Theatre, Farnham

1970

| What the Butler Saw

| Mrs Prentice

| Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

1970

| Dead Silence

| Mrs Masters

| Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

rowspan="2"| 1970

| rowspan="2"| Someone Waiting

| rowspan="2"| Vera Nedlow

| Hippodrome, London

Palace Theatre, Manchester
1971

| Barefoot in the Park

| Mrs Banks

| Liverpool Playhouse

1971

| The Woman in White

| Marian Halcombe

| Castle Theatre, Farnham

1974

| Candida

| Candida Morell

| Watford Palace Theatre

1979

| Saturday Sunday Monday

| {{N/A|Unknown}}

| Royal Lyceum Theatre

1984

| Mandragola

| Sostrata

| Royal National Theatre

1985

| A Man for All Seasons

| Lady Alice More

| Nottingham Playhouse

1985

| Me Mam Sez

| Mam

| Nottingham Playhouse

1987

| A Cuckoo in the Nest

| Mrs Spoker

| Redgrave Theatre, Farnham

1988–1989

| The Beaux' Stratagem

| Lady Bountiful

| {{N/A|Unknown}}

1989

| Death of a Salesman

| Mrs Spoker

| Redgrave Theatre, Farnham

1990

| Rebecca

| {{N/A|Unknown}}

| Churchill Theatre

1990

| The Entertainer

| Phoebe Rice

| Redgrave Theatre, Farnham

1991

| Steel Magnolias

| M'Lynn

| New Wolsey Theatre

1991

| Hay Fever

| Judith Bliss

| New Wolsey Theatre

1992

| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

| Martha

| New Wolsey Theatre

1992

| Medea

| Woman of Corinth

| Almeida Theatre

1993

| The Belle of Belfast City

| Vi

| Orange Tree Theatre

1994

| The Card

| Mrs Machin

| Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

rowspan="2"| 1993–1994

| rowspan="2"| Medea

| rowspan="2"| Woman of Corinth

| Liverpool Playhouse

Wyndham's Theatre
1996

| Romeo and Juliet

| {{N/A|Unknown}}

| New End Theatre

1996

| The Verge

| Adelaide

| Orange Tree Theatre

1997

| My Mother Said I Never Should

| Margaret

| The Young Vic Theatre

2000

| Venecia

| Rita

| Gate Theatre

2002

| Long Time No See

| Freda

| Stratford Circus

2003

| True West

| Mom

| Bristol Old Vic

rowspan="2"| 2006

| rowspan="2"| Hedda Gabler

| rowspan="2"| Aunt Juli

| West Yorkshire Playhouse

Liverpool Playhouse
2011

| Notes to Future Self

| Daphne

| Birmingham Repertory Theatre

2011

| Buried Child

| Halie

| Curve Theatre

2012

| Calcutta Kosher

| Mozelle

| Arcola Theatre

2013

| The Summer House

| Tatiana

| Soho Theatre

2013

| As Is

| Hospice worker

| Trafalgar Studios

colspan="4" style="text-align: center;" | Sources:

References

{{Reflist}}