The entertainment world is mourning the loss of Sheila Bernette, a versatile singer and actor whose career spanned more than seven decades. She has died at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy of laughter and song across West End stages, television light entertainment, and beloved music-hall revues.
A Life in the Limelight: From Child Star to Comedy Foil
Born Sheila Mary Poncini in London on 30 March 1931, her journey into performance began extraordinarily early. She trained in ballet at the famed Italia Conti Stage Academy from the age of just two. By twelve, she was performing in a London Palladium pantomime, setting the stage for a lifelong passion for variety.
Her big West End break came in 1953 with the revue-style musical Over the Moon at the Piccadilly Theatre. However, it was her association with the iconic Players’ theatre club that became a cornerstone of her career. Joining in 1955, she performed Victorian music-hall entertainment there for five decades. In 1957, she took over the role of Dulcie in the Players’ West End production of The Boy Friend at Wyndham’s theatre.
Her talent was recognised internationally when she was part of a select group from the Players’ company that performed at the Strollers theatre club in New York from 1961 to 1962, charming American audiences with a taste of old England.
Television Fame: Candid Camera and Comedy Legends
While she took dramatic roles early on, such as Polly in the 1960 film Sons and Lovers, Sheila Bernette truly found her television niche in comedy. She became a cherished foil to some of Britain's biggest comedy stars.
Leslie Crowther was a particular champion of her work. She appeared alongside him in numerous shows including Crowther Takes a Look… (1965), The Black and White Minstrel Show (1967-1969), and The Leslie Crowther Show (1971). Their partnership extended to summer seasons and the 1970 Royal Variety Performance.
For fifteen years, from 1968 to 1983, she brought her music-hall expertise to the BBC's nostalgic television show The Good Old Days, presented by Leonard Sachs in Leeds.
Perhaps one of her most memorable TV moments came in the 1974 revival of Candid Camera. In a famous sequence titled 'Sheila’s Broom', she played an elderly woman who would whack unsuspecting men on the backside with her brush. The character was so successful it earned her a trip to New York to appear on the US version of the show.
Her light entertainment credits read like a who's who of British comedy:
- Morecambe and Wise in Two of a Kind and The Morecambe & Wise Show (1968)
- Dick Emery in The Dick Emery Show (1972, 1973)
- Tommy Cooper in Cooper – Just Like That! (1978)
- Guest spots in sitcoms like Hancock (1963), The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1977), and Butterflies (1979)
A Lasting Legacy on Stage and Screen
Bernette's career never waned. In 1973, she appeared in six episodes of Coronation Street as Sister Delaney, nursing Elsie Tanner after her accident. She continued performing annual pantomimes with the Players’ theatre, playing the title role in Puss in Boots in 1991, with her final tour appearances for the company in 1994 and 1995.
A new generation discovered her in the children's sitcom Hotel Trubble (2008-2011), where she played the eccentric Mrs Poshington, a former guest turned cleaner with eight deceased husbands and a stuffed cat she believed was alive. Her final film role was as a pickpocket in the 2009 romantic comedy My Life in Ruins (released as Driving Aphrodite in the UK).
Sheila Bernette, the 5ft-tall dynamo with a vivacious personality and faultless timing, passed away on 12 January 2026. She is remembered as a consummate entertainer who brought joy through song, comedy, and a timeless touch of music-hall spirit.
