Where are the cast of BBC sitcom Bread now? A look at the 1980s sitcom after star Jean Boht dies aged 91

One of the stars of BBC sitcom Bread has sadly passed away this week after a battle with Alzheimer's and dementia. Jean Boht who played family matriarch Nellie Boswell in the 1980s show, was 91.

Set in Liverpool, the popular show looked at how a working-class family dealt with a time of struggle and unemployment in 1980s Britain.

Boht's family confirmed her death on September 12 - just six weeks after the death of her husband - at a retirement home for TV stars in north-west London.

She became famous on the show for Nellie's quick wit and her iconic catchphrase - 'She is a tart!'

With the show back in the spotlight following Boht's death, it also featured many other stars who fans may have struggled to keep tabs on in recent years.

NationalWorld takes a look at where the other cast members of Carla Lane's show are now.

Peter Howitt (Joey Boswell)

Nellie's favourite on the show was always Joey - known for rocking his iconic leather jacket.

Actor Peter Howitt played the role for two years before being replaced - although he remains the better Joey for many fans.

Some have even put forward the theory that Joey was a male escort on the show.

Now in his 60s, Howitt has made a career as a Hollywood director with credits including Sliding Doors and 2012's Reasonable Doubt which starred Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson.

According to the Daily Mail, he currently lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Ronald Forfar (Freddie Boswell)

Nellie's husband on the show was played by Ronald Forfar and the couple enjoyed a constant back and forth that was largely fuelled by Freddie's relationship with Lilo Lill - or 'that tart' as Jean Boht's character liked to refer to her as.

He moved to France in 1997 and starred in period drama Vatel before returning to the UK in 2004 to embark on a career writing screenplays and novels.

Forfar died in 2020, aged 81.

Nick Conway (Billy Boswell)

The youngest of the Boswell siblings was played by Nick Conway - who probably enjoyed his greatest success on the show.

After Bread ended, the actor made fleeting appearances in shows such as Sharpe's Justice, The Bill and Coronation Street. His last known role came in an episode of the soap Doctors. 

Now 60, Conway works as an actor, DJ and voiceover artist.

Victor McGuire (Jack Boswell)

Now 59, McGuire got his big break in Bread and followed this up with some notable roles

His role in Goodnight Sweetheart was followed by a string of stage and film roles including in Peak Practice and Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  

From 2012 to 2017 he featured as security guard Ian in the popular Sky sitcom Trollied. Coronation Street fans will also remember him as Big Garth in a February 2019 episode.

Gilly Colman & Melanie Hill (Aveline Boswell)

The character of Aveline was originally played by Gilly Coman until 1988 when she was replaced by Melanie Hill.

The over-protected and over-stereotyped daughter was made to wear a whistle around her neck and aspired to be a vicar until marrying Protestant vicar Oswald.

Gilly Coman went on to appear in shows including Coronation Street and Emmerdale but died from a heart attack in 2010 aged 54.

Melanie Hill, now 61, also played the character and continues to enjoy a high-profile television career, most recently in BBC One drama Waterloo Road and in The Syndicate.

During the peak of her career, she dated and married Sean Bean and the couple have two daughters, Lorna and Molly. They went on to divorce in 2007.

She also played Cathy Matthews in Coronation Street before leaving the soap in 2022, while featuring regularly in daytime chat show Loose Women.

Jonathon Morris (Adrian Boswell)

He was the most sensitive of the Boswells and had a sharp dress sense too for the time.

The actor, Lancashire-born Jonathan Morris, continued with mainly stage roles after Bread.

Now 63, Morris' career has faded somewhat with a 2005 appearance on reality television show The Games. He played the Jester in a Liverpool pantomime in 2013.

Eileen Pollock (Lilo Lill)

Lilo Lill's character was more in spirit than an actual integral part of the show Bread.

Nellie was known to have an extreme reaction to the mere mention of her name, often using the response: 'She is a tart!

Belfast-born actress Eileen Pollock went on to star in Taggart and The Bill. She also took small parts in the Irish film Angela's Ashes, and blockbuster Far and Away and she continued to work steadily after the show went off the air.

She died aged 73 in December 2020.

Kenneth Waller (Grandad)

A running joke in Bread was the expectation of the Boswell children to take their grandad his lunch.

The actor behind the character, Kenneth Waller, died in 2000 after a brief illness at the age of 72.

His other key role included playing Old Mr. Grace in Are You Being Served?