# Josephine Melville

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British actress, director and writer (1961–2022)

Josephine Melville Born (1961-12-04)4 December 1961 West Ham, [London], England Died 20 October 2022(2022-10-20) (aged 61) Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England Occupations Actress, director Known for EastEnders (1986)

**Josephine Crawford Melville** (12 April 1961 – 20 October 2022) was a British actress, director and writer who was best known for starring in the television soap opera *[EastEnders](/source/EastEnders)*.

## Life and career

Melville was born in [West Ham](/source/West_Ham), [London](/source/London) on 12 April 1961.[1] After first appearing on television in 1983 in *[Luna](/source/Luna_(TV_series))*,[2] [Essex](/source/Essex)-born Melville[3][4][5][6][7] portrayed [Tessa Parker](/source/List_of_EastEnders_characters_(1986)) in eight episodes of *[EastEnders](/source/EastEnders)* in 1986, and Ellie Wright in one episode in 2005.[6] She also had roles on television in *[The Bill](/source/The_Bill)*, *[Prime Suspect](/source/Prime_Suspect)*, *[Casualty](/source/Casualty_(TV_series))*[6] and *[Pie in the Sky](/source/Pie_in_the_Sky_(TV_series))*, among others,[2] and in early 2022 she appeared in the music video for [Ella Henderson](/source/Ella_Henderson)'s "[Brave](/source/Brave_(Ella_Henderson_song))".[4][5][7]

In feature films, she had roles in *[Empire State](/source/Empire_State_(1987_film))* in 1987 and in the forthcoming *Slammer*.[2] In 2021 she produced and directed *Assistance*, a short thriller.[6]

In 2021, Melville held workshops across Essex as part of the *Know Your Roots* project on preserving the stories of black women's hair.[6][8] In [Southend-on-Sea](/source/Southend-on-Sea), where she lived, she founded the South Essex African Caribbean Association[7] and organised the East Beach Festival.[3][9]

On 20 October 2022, Melville collapsed backstage after performing in a production of [Natasha Gordon](/source/Natasha_Gordon)'s play *[Nine Night](/source/Nine_Night)* at the [Nottingham Playhouse](/source/Nottingham_Playhouse). She was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.[10][3][4][5][6][7][2][11]

## Filmography

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### Film

Year Title Role 1987 Empire State 2021 Dead Of Night [12] Grandma 2022 Slammer Detective Russell

### Television

Year Title Role Notes 1986 EastEnders Tessa Parker 8 episodes 2000s The Bill Pie in the Sky Little Miss Jocelyn L8r Hold the Sunset Prime Suspect 2005 EastEnders Ellie Wright 1 episode

## External links

- [Josephine Melville](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0578487/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Melville; Josephine; Jo](https://web.archive.org/web/20200921184049/https://www.blackplaysarchive.org.uk/explore/playwrights/melville-josephine-jo) at [Black Plays Archive](/source/Black_Plays_Archive)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Smurthwaite, Nick (28 October 2022). ["Obituary: Josephine Melville"](https://www.thestage.co.uk/obituaries--archive/obituaries/josephine-melville). *[The Stage](/source/The_Stage)*. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-London_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-London_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-London_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-London_2-3) Quinn, Angie (21 October 2022). ["Ex-BBC EastEnders star Josephine Melville dies backstage during play"](https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/ex-bbc-eastenders-star-josephine-25327454). *MyLondon News*. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Echo_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Echo_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Echo_3-2) England, Sophie (22 October 2022). ["Southend-based ex-EastEnders actress Josephine Melville dies backstage"](https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23070247.ex-eastenders-actress-based-southend-dies-backstage/). *Echo*. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Guardian_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Guardian_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Guardian_4-2) Haque, Sarah (22 October 2022). ["Ex-EastEnders actor Josephine Melville dies backstage after play"](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/oct/22/ex-eastenders-actor-josephine-melville-dies-backstage-after-play). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BBC_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BBC_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-BBC_5-2) ["Josephine Melville: Ex-EastEnders actress dies backstage after play"](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-63349581). *BBC News*. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-AP_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-AP_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-AP_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-AP_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-AP_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-AP_6-5) ["Josephine Melville, respected actor and director, dead at 61"](https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-arts-and-entertainment-obituaries-943c0fa1b46a242ad33f6f51ba192858). *Associated Press*. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ind_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ind_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ind_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ind_7-3) Lewis, Isobel (22 October 2022). ["Josephine Melville: EastEnders actor dies backstage at Nottingham Playhouse after performance"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/josephine-melville-death-eastenders-nottingham-playhouse-b2208278.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Know Your Roots: 'My hair is the reflection of who I am'"](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-essex-59489992). *BBC News* (with video, 2 mins 33 secs). 1 December 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** England, Sophie (22 October 2022). ["Southend councillors pay tribute to the 'inspirational' Josephine Melville"](https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23070261.southend-councillors-pay-tribute-josephine-melville/). *Echo*. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Former EastEnders actress Josephine Melville dies backstage after play"](https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/national/23070455.former-eastenders-actress-josephine-melville-dies-backstage-play/). *Oxford Mail*. PA News Agency. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Former EastEnders actress Josephine Melville dies backstage after performing in play"](https://news.sky.com/story/former-eastenders-actress-josephine-melville-dies-backstage-after-performing-in-play-12726949). *Sky News*. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Melville, Josephine (8 April 2021). ["Actor"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl17vHt53I8). *YouTube*. Blue Moon Productions. Retrieved 23 October 2022.

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