# Janine Duvitski
**Janine Duvitski** (born Christine Janine Drzewicki, 1952) is an English actress best known for creating the role of Angela in [Mike Leigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-leigh)'s play *Abigail's Party* (1977) and for playing Jane Edwards in *[Waiting for God](https://www.edgepedia.org/waiting-for-god-tv-series)*, Pippa Trench in *One Foot in the Grave*, and Jacqueline Stewart in *Benidorm*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=10920) Her career spans more than five decades across television, theater, and film.[3](https://magazineinsights.co.uk/janine-duvitski/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and date | Christine Janine Drzewicki, 1952[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) |
| Stage name origin | "Duvitski" is a phonetic representation of her Polish surname Drzewicki, which she thought no one would know how to pronounce[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) |
| Training | East 15 Acting School, three years[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html) |
| Breakthrough | Angela in Mike Leigh's *Abigail's Party*, first performed at the Hampstead Theatre on 18 April 1977 and televised that November as a BBC *Play for Today*[5](https://secure.crescent-theatre.co.uk/Y2006/programmes/abigails_party.pdf) • [3](https://magazineinsights.co.uk/janine-duvitski/) |
| Signature sitcom roles | Jane Edwards in *Waiting for God*; Pippa Trench in *One Foot in the Grave*; Jacqueline Stewart in *Benidorm* (2007–2018, 73 episodes)[2](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=10920) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207) |
| Film roles | Annie in *Dracula* (1979), Margaret Nicholson in *The Madness of King George* (1994), Caroline in *About a Boy* (2002), Mary in *The New World* (2005), Aunt Lottie in *Angel* (2007)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207) |
| Family | Married to the actor Paul Bentall since 1983; four children, including the actress Ruby Bentall[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) |
| Recognition | Honorary degree from the University of Essex, 2018[7](https://vimeo.com/281966937) |
## Early life and training
Duvitski was born in the [Lancashire](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancashire) seaside town of [Morecambe](https://www.edgepedia.org/morecambe) to an English mother and a Polish father, attended school in [Nottingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/nottingham), and moved to London to train as an actress at the East 15 theater school.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) Her birthplace is reported inconsistently: some databases give Nottingham, where she grew up, while her IMDb biography states that records show her birth was registered in Lancaster, having taken place in nearby Morecambe.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) • [8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janine-duvitski/)
She has said that as a child she was too embarrassed to admit she wanted to act, believing actors had to be beautiful and able to sing and dance, and that she was never in a school play.[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html) After leaving drama school she had no agent, so she placed an advert with a photograph in the Spotlight agency catalog. The BBC then approached her to test for *Diane* (1975), a *Playhouse* drama about incest; although she was in her early twenties, she won the part of a 13-year-old girl, and the role opened the door to further television and stage work.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/)
## Abigail's Party
While appearing in *Don Juan* at the Hampstead Theatre in London, Duvitski was spotted by the director Mike Leigh, who offered her the part of Angie (Angela) in his stage production of *Abigail's Party*; she repeated the role in the television version.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) The play was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre on 18 April 1977, with Duvitski as Angela alongside [Alison Steadman](https://www.edgepedia.org/alison-steadman) as Beverly.[5](https://secure.crescent-theatre.co.uk/Y2006/programmes/abigails_party.pdf) Leigh developed the script through improvisation, working with each actor individually over eight weeks of rehearsal; Duvitski researched her nurse character at the Royal Free Hospital in London.[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html)
In November 1977 an abridged version was filmed for the BBC as a *Play for Today*.[3](https://magazineinsights.co.uk/janine-duvitski/) The play ran for 104 performances and became one of the defining theatrical events of the 1970s, a satire of middle-class aspiration in which Beverly advises Duvitski's Angela to sit before a mirror and repeat "I've got very beautiful lips", a scene that has since become famous.[3](https://magazineinsights.co.uk/janine-duvitski/) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/14/television.bbc) Duvitski has said that people still quote lines at her and that she finds it flattering that the play is remembered more than any other work she has done.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/14/television.bbc) She worked with Leigh again on *Grown-Ups* in 1980.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/14/television.bbc)
## Television career
Duvitski became a familiar face in British television comedy. Her credits include *Blue Remembered Hills* by Dennis Potter, *Brush Strokes*, *Citizen Smith*, *Minder*, *My Family*, *[Man About the House](https://www.edgepedia.org/man-about-the-house)*, *The New Statesman*, *The Black Stuff* by [Alan Bleasdale](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-bleasdale), *The Knowledge*, *Z-Cars*, *The Worst Week of My Life*, *Little Dorrit*, *Still Open All Hours*, and the BBC series *Boy Meets Girl*.[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html)
Two BBC sitcom roles made her especially recognizable. In *Waiting for God* she played Jane Edwards, and in *One Foot in the Grave* she played Pippa Trench, the next-door neighbor, a part she held across the series and its specials from 1990 to 2000.[2](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=10920) • [10](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/janine_duvitski/) She has said of *One Foot in the Grave* that the writing was superb and that filming before a studio audience meant the cast knew immediately that it worked.[11](https://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/video-benidorm-star-janine-duvitski-delighted-to-be-bringing-sitcom-to-milton-keynes-244414)
## Benidorm
From 2007 to 2018 Duvitski played Jacqueline Stewart, one half of the sitcom *[Benidorm](https://www.edgepedia.org/benidorm-british-tv-series)*'s outrageous swinger couple with Donald, played by [Kenny Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenny-ireland), appearing in 73 episodes across all ten series.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207) • [12](https://www.whattowatch.com/news/benidorms-janine-duvitski-people-really-do-seem-to-believe-im-a-swinger-121882) She was involved from the first episode, and during the run she bought a house in Spain about 20 minutes from Benidorm, as did her co-star [Jake Canuso](https://www.edgepedia.org/jake-canuso).[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html) She has said that tourists shout at her and Ireland as if they were the characters.[12](https://www.whattowatch.com/news/benidorms-janine-duvitski-people-really-do-seem-to-believe-im-a-swinger-121882)
When the television series ended, she joined *Benidorm Live*, the first stage version of the show, written by its creator Derren Litten, which premiered at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle on 7 September 2018 and toured the UK and Ireland with the original cast, including Canuso, Sherrie Hewson, Shelley Longworth, and [Tony Maudsley](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-maudsley).[13](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Janine-Duvitski/) • [4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html)
## Film and stage
Her film work includes *Dracula* (1979), *The Madness of King George* (1994), *About a Boy* (2002), *The New World* (2005), and *Angel* (2007).[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207) On stage she has performed at the National Theatre, the Young Vic, and with the [Royal Shakespeare Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-shakespeare-company), with appearances including *The Relapse* and *The Coast of Utopia* at the National Theatre and *On the Town* with English National Opera in the West End.[4](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html) • [2](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=10920)
Her later screen work has continued into voice acting and new television: she voiced Old Pennicruik in *The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim* (2024) and Nana in the CBeebies animation *Nikhil & Jay*, and played Gloria in *The Couple Next Door* and Mrs Wilkins in the 2023 *Tom Jones* miniseries.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207) • [14](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/index.php/artist/janine-duvitski)
## Personal life
Duvitski married the actor Paul Bentall in 1983; they have four children, Jack, Albert, Ruby, and Edith Bentall, and live in London.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/) Her daughter [Ruby Bentall](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruby-bentall) is also an actress.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janine-duvitski/) The University of Essex awarded her an honorary degree in 2018.[7](https://vimeo.com/281966937)
## References
1. [Janine Duvitski – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207/bio/)
2. [Janine Duvitski, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=10920)
3. [Who Is Janine Duvitski? Her Career and Marriage to Paul Bentall, Magazine Insights](https://magazineinsights.co.uk/janine-duvitski/)
4. [Interview with Janine Duvitski, Southend Theatre Scene](https://www.southendtheatrescene.com/janineduvitski.html)
5. [Directors Notes: Abigail's Party programme, Crescent Theatre](https://secure.crescent-theatre.co.uk/Y2006/programmes/abigails_party.pdf)
6. [Janine Duvitski, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245207)
7. [Honorary Graduate Janine Duvitski at the University of Essex, Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/281966937)
8. [Janine Duvitski – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/janine-duvitski/)
9. [The party that has lasted for 30 years, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/oct/14/television.bbc)
10. [Janine Duvitski, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/janine_duvitski/)
11. [Benidorm star Janine Duvitski delighted to be bringing sitcom to Milton Keynes, Leighton Buzzard Online](https://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/arts-and-culture/theatre-and-stage/video-benidorm-star-janine-duvitski-delighted-to-be-bringing-sitcom-to-milton-keynes-244414)
12. [Benidorm's Janine Duvitski: 'People really do seem to believe I'm a swinger!', What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/news/benidorms-janine-duvitski-people-really-do-seem-to-believe-im-a-swinger-121882)
13. [Janine Duvitski – Broadway and Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Janine-Duvitski/)
14. [Janine Duvitski, Sue Terry Voices](https://www.sueterryvoices.com/index.php/artist/janine-duvitski)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames C to D*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license