Victor McGuire / Jean Boht / Melanie Hill
TV

Jean Boht, ‘Bread’ actress, dies at 91; cast then and now

Mixed fortunes for the stars

Bread actor Jean Boht has sadly passed away at the age of 91 yesterday (Tuesday, September 12), it was announced.

Following the sad news, here’s an updated look at where the cast of Bread are now…

Jean Boht smiling
Jean Boht has passed away (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Bread star Jean Boht has died

The matriarch of the Boswell family, Nellie Boswell, was played by Jean Boht. Known as a fearsome but caring woman, Jean became a household name.

As well as starring in Bread, Jean made appearances in Doctors, Casualty, Holby City, and Skins. Her final acting role came in 2018, in the short film Brexicuated.

Yesterday, it was sadly announced that Jean had passed away at the age of 91. Her death came following a battle with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. At the time of her death, she was a resident at Denville Hall, a care home for actors.

“It is with overwhelming sadness that we must announce that Jean Boht passed away yesterday,” her family said in a statement today (Tuesday, September 13).

Her death comes a month after the death of her husband of 43 years, Carl Davis. Jean is survived by her two daughters.

The cast of Bread on TV
Joey (left, seated) was the leader of the family (Credit: UKTV)

Peter Howitt

Playing heartthrob son Joey, Peter became a huge star in the 1980s.

After Bread finished he went on to become a Hollywood director.

He directed Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors and Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English.

The dad-of-two now lives in Canada, and his last project was the movie Scorched Earth in 2018.

Nick Conway played Billy in Bread
Billy was a cheeky character (Credit: UKTV)

Nick Conway

After Bread, 60-year-old Nick appeared (twice) in Coronation Street, The Bill and Doctors.

He currently runs a theatre school, as well as being a DJ.

Victor as Jack in Bread
Jack was a lovable character in Bread (Credit: YouTube)

Victor McGuire

Now 59, Victor played the lovable Jack Boswell in the series.

Since then, he has enjoyed an active career, most notably appearing in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998.

He appeared in Sky One’s Trollied for three series, and then in 2019, landed the role of Big Garth in Coronation Street.

Victor was among the cast of The Responder in 2022.

Bread
Adrian Boswell was the sensitive sort (Credit: YouTube)

Jonathan Morris

The actor played the sensitive, artistic Adrian Boswell, and after Bread, he took over from Phillip Schofield to host CBBC’s The Movie Game.

With appearances on Channel 5’s Night Fever and Channel 4’s The Games, Jonathon continued to act but slipped out of the public eye.

His last role was 2012 in a pantomime in Liverpool.

Gilly Coman played the original Aveline in Bread
The original Aveline in Bread was played by Gilly (Credit: YouTube)

Gilly Coman

The late actress played sassy redhead Aveline in the first four series of Bread.

She also appeared in Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Inspector Morse and the BBC sitcom Open All Hours, alongside Ronnie Barker and David Jason.

Sadly, mum-of-three Gilly died of a suspected heart attack in 2010, aged only 54.

Corrie star Melanie Hill starred in Bread
Cathy Matthews in Corrie (Credit: ITV)

Melanie Hill

Melanie took over from Gilly Coman as Aveline.

Since Bread finished in 1991, Melanie has become a familiar face on our TV screens.

The 61-year-old recently starred in The Syndicate and Waterloo Road, but is best known for playing Cathy Matthews in Coronation Street.

Ronald as philandering Freddie in Bread
The philandering Freddie in Bread (Credit: YouTube)

Ronald Forfar

Ronald played Nellie’s philandering husband Freddie.

After an illustrious career, he wrote novels in his later years.

In 2015, he told The Express: “I still look similar to Freddie Boswell, so there’s a reaction from people when they see me, but it’s a friendly reaction.”

Sadly, Ronald died in October 2020 – aged 81.

Read more: Grange Hill – what are the cast doing now?

Bread | Full Theme Song | BBC | 1986 to 1991

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor