Lesley Joseph is an English stage and screen actress best known for playing Dorien Green in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather from 1989 to 1998, and starring in numerous pantomimes – which she received the inaugural Panto Icon Award at the UK Pantomime Awards in 2026.
Joseph was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2018 for her performance as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein.
She starred as Molly in Road at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester earlier this year, and will play Grandma in Billy Elliot the Musical when it returns to the West End on 12 February 2027.
Lesley Joseph in Billy Elliot the Musical
Joseph will play Grandma in Billy Elliot the Musical when it returns to the West End at the Adelphi Theatre, London from 12 February 2027.
The show is set in the mid-1980s, and depicts Billy (a role shared between Noah Mannion, Rafferty Smale, Spencer Collins and William Gurney) secretly pursuing his passion for dances. As he faces resistance at home and in his community, Billy discovers a strength and determination he never knew he had.
The musical also features music by Elton John and a book by Lee Hall, and Stephen Daldry (Stranger Things: The First Shadow) is handling direction.
Book tickets for Billy Elliot the Musical now to ensure you don’t miss Joseph’s performance.
About Lesley Joseph
Joseph made her stage debut in 1964, appearing as Hermia in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Abington Park Museum, Northampton. She appeared as Edith Piaf in Piaf at the Belgrade Theatre in 1981, and has starred in multiple productions of Cinderella, Dick Whittington and Snow White throughout her career. She also played Chris in Calendar Girls in 2011, and returned to the show eight years later in the role of Jessie.
Other highlights across Joseph’s extensive stage career include playing Miss Hannigan in the 2015-2016 tour of Annie (a role shared with Jodie Prenger, Elaine C Smith and Craig Revel Horwood), the roles of Sister Mary Lazarus and Mother Superior in Sister Act: The Musical between 2022 and 2024, and Grandma in the UK tour of The Addams Family between 2024 and 2025.
TV and radio credits
Joseph’s TV work includes playing Dorien Green Birds of a Feather between 1989 and 1998, followed by a reboot in 2016, and Christmas specials in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Her other TV work includes playing Rachel Culgrin on ITV soap Night and Day between 2001 and 2003, being a contestant on the 14th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, and winning the seventh series of Celebrity Coach Trip alongside her Birds of a Feather co-star Linda Robson in 2022.
Joseph presented a radio show in 2008 on BBC London 94.9 with Christopher Biggins.
Adelphi Theatre, London
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