Emmerdale icon Jo Kendall left £8,000 and no will when she died earlier this year.
Jo, who died at the age of 83, in February, will forever have a part in Emmerdale folklore after speaking the ITV soap’s first line in 1972. Which fans will, of course, know came when her character Peggy Skilbeck said: “Matt. Who's she?”
The Mirror reports Jo, who lived her last days at London retirement home Denville Hall, left £8,137 in her estate which will go to her next of kin because she didn’t have a will.
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Jo's career encompassed film, TV and comedy as she rose to fame as the only woman in a inspirational batch of Cambridge comedians - including John Cleese and Goodies Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie. At the time of her death, John Cleese said: "I woke to hear of dear Jo Kendall's death. She was in the 1963 Cambridge Footlights Revue which took her, Tim Brooke Taylor, Bill Oddie, David Hatch, Humphrey Barclay, and me into Show Business
“Jo performed in over 100 ‘I'm sorry I'll read that Again' shows and the 1948 show.” He added: "She was a very likeable, cheerful, friendly woman - a delight to work with I got to know her well on the 1964 Tour of New Zealand, and subsequently, our appearances on and off-Broadway. She was an integral part of the ISIRTA team and we did countless 'John and Mary' sketches. I have many happy memories of her.”
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In Emmerdale, Jo’s character Peggy was the daughter of Jacob and Annie Sugden. Peggy was married to Matt Skillbeck with Jo giving birth to the soap's first babies — twins Sam and Sally.
Sadly, the character of Peggy died in July 1973. The heartbreaking scenes saw Peggy die from a brain haemorrhage. Elsewhere, you might recognise Jo from Grange Hill and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
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