Village to bid farewell to Dame Penelope Keith

Villagers are set to pay their respects to the late Dame Penelope Keith after her death in June at the age of 86.

The coffin of the actress will be walked through her home village of Milford in Surrey before her funeral, the parish council said.

Dame Penelope became a household name playing Margo Leadbetter in The Good Life from 1975, which won her a Bafta TV award.

Witley & Milford parish councillor Maxine Gale said on Facebook a procession would set off just before 10:00 BST from the traffic lights at the end of Portsmouth Road and walk "past all the shops where so many of us used to see her".

She urged residents to come and say their "goodbyes to a very special lady".

Julia Bartlett, who works at a farm shop Dame Penelope used to visit, described her as such a "lovely person".

"She knew us all by name... [and] would remember whatever we told her about us," she told BBC Radio Surrey.

Bartlett said Dame Penelope's husband had invited her to the funeral as she had wanted her to be there.

"I feel very special. I didn't expect that at all."

Dame Penelope, who also starred in To The Manor Born, "died peacefully whilst living with cancer at her home" on 29 June.

Witley & Milford Parish Council said she was a familiar presence at community events.

"Those who met her locally will also remember her kindness, her humour and her genuine interest in the community she called home.

"She will be greatly missed and remembered with enormous affection.

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