Actor Felicity has been reflecting on working on The Good Life and making the most of life after the death of Penelope Keith.13:37, 07 Jul 2026The Good Life actress Felicity Kendal has spoken about how she is now “the last one of the group” as all the other three main stars of the BBC comedy are dead.‌And she admits that as she gets older, it means her address book is shrinking because so many of her pals are no longer with us. Felicity found fame in the 1970s along with Penelope Keith, Richard Briers and Paul Eddington in the sitcom The Good Life.‌Millions of viewers tuned in each week on BBC1 to see her and Briers play Tom and Barbara Good, a suburban couple living in Surbiton who had decided to give up the rat race and try a life of self sufficiency. Their trials and errors at enjoying ‘the good life’ led them into many clashes with their snooty neighbour Margo Leadbetter (Keith) and her henpecked husband Jerry (Eddington).‌Last week fans were left devastated by the news that Penelope passed away aged 86 after losing her battle against cancer. Co-stars Richard died in 2013 aged 79 years old and Paul in 1995 aged 68.It leaves Felicity, who is 79, as the last one standing from the comedy gang which entertained audiences for four series from 1975 to 1978 and is still fondly remembered by British audiences.‌And she now reveals how every time they lost someone from their ‘family’, it affected their tight bond. The star, who has also appeared in Rosemary and Thyme, The Mistress and Doctor Who, explained: “On The Good Life, we were that close, we would go round to each other’s house in rotation, having dinner, on the Sundays we had off.“To be honest we were close like a family, like a company that has been together for years because we worked together We laughed a lot. It just gets you through and you see the other side of things, and I think that our thing together... we had more humour than than it was probably legal.“And then Paul died very early, very young, and that was the beginning of it. We didn't go to each other's house regularly any more because there was this gap and I think all three of us went into incredible depression... upset, I don't mean clinical depression.. We were just heartbroken.‌“And then when Dickie died, that was just another one. So Penny and I were the two girls left, and you know, to me, I find it's a real leveller.“Suddenly there's no Penny and now I'm the sort of last one of the group which is a bit of a responsibility I think.. well no it isn't .. but on the other hand, you know, she was wonderful and I think by the time we get to our age that's okay!“Penny was very private. She absolutely appreciated recognition and people telling her she's ‘good’ and she did a lot of charity and she was a funny, lovely woman and one brilliant cook but she didn't go on social media and show off about what she was doing or anything. She was quite private.”‌Former Strictly star Felicity - who claims one of her mantras for life is ‘Laugh and walk through’ – said as she grows older she has realised how important it is to enjoy yourself.She told Go Explore Radio: “Two things happen. Your address book gets smaller.. completely and utterly.. not useless... but much smaller. The new one is a smaller version.“And I think (when friends die) what it does do when you get over the grief of losing someone, which can be like waves... everybody has different timings and sometimes the tsunami hits you again and you thought it was a summer day… but when you get more used to it.. on a wet day the thing is that you do is give yourself a bit of a nudge and say, ‘Now look here, stop whinging about plumbing and about whatever.. maybe somebody's been slightly off with you because the sun is shining and guess what? You're here.Article continues below"And the alternative is not any fun - as far as we know’. I have seen a lot of people not living and I wish they had had longer. Don’t waste it.”Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.