The great Felicity Kendal takes pride of place on this week's episode of The Graham Norton Show, which airs Friday at 11pm EST on BBC America. Remarkably, it's her first ever appearance on Norton’s comfy red couch. During a career spanning more than 50 years, Kendal has focused on stage work for sustained periods; in the ‘80s and ‘90s, she became known for originating roles in Arcadia, The Real Thing, and other acclaimed West End plays by Sir Tom Stoppard, her romantic partner from 1991 to 1998. But it’s her intermittent TV work that’s made her a perennial favorite who's often described as “the nation’s sweetheart,” so here’s a fond reminder of some of her classic small-screen roles.

The Good Life

Kendal will always be associated with this iconic BBC sitcom, which ran for four seasons between 1975 and 1978 and was retitled Good Neighbors when it aired on PBS in the early '80s. She plays Barbara Good, a charming middle-class housewife who supports her husband Tom (Richard Briers) when he decides to give up his office job and embrace a sustainable, grow-your-own lifestyle. Their unlikely friendship with fancy neighbors Jerry (Paul Eddington) and Margo (Penelope Keith) is a fruitful source of comic tension, making this a show you can watch over and over again.

Solo

Following the success of The Good Life, Kendal landed her own star vehicle: this wistful early '80s sitcom from prolific BBC screenwriter Carla Lane. She plays Gemma Palmer, a woman who reinvents her life after discovering that her partner is having an affair – much to the disapproval of her traditional mother (Elspet Gray), who observes: "A woman without a man is like a bird of prey with a squint." As Kendal concedes in this interview for the show's 2012 DVD release, Solo now seems somewhat "dated," but at the time its portrait of a woman gently rebelling against society's expectations would have felt empowering and progressive.

The Camomile Lawn

This five-part adaptation of Mary Wesley's acclaimed novel aired on Channel 4 and ABC in 1992. Kendal and her The Good Life co-star Paul Eddington reunite to play Aunt Helena and Uncle Richard, owners of a sprawling Cornish estate which makes quite an impression on young family members played by Toby Stephens, Jennifer Ehle, and a 10-year-old Rebecca Hall. At the time, The Camomile Lawn drew a huge audience of 7.2 million to Channel 4 – a figure the network only really exceeds now with The Great British Baking Show.

Rosemary and Thyme

Kendal takes a rare series-regular role in this cozy detective drama, which originally ran on ITV between 2003 and 2006. She and Pam Ferris star as Laura Thyme and Rosemary Boxer, two very different women who start a gardening business which invariably helps them to sniff out murderers and solve complex crimes. While some of the scenarios are a little far-fetched, there's no faulting this show's twinkly performances and beautiful English countryside setting. If you have BritBox, it definitely makes for a cute rainy Sunday binge-watch.

Doctor Who

Kendal makes a glamorous guest appearance in the 2008 episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp," a 1920s murder-mystery adventure starring David Tennant's Timelord and Catherine Tate's companion, Donna Noble. She plays Lady Clemency Eddison, an upper-crust Englishwoman who welcomes the legendary Agatha Christie (Fenella Woolgar) to her house for a dinner party, only to see it descend into mayhem. The culprit, as fans will remember, is a shape-shifting giant wasp which disguises itself as a party guest then sets about murdering Lady Clemency's visitors one by one. It's definitely an episode to revisit.

Do you have a favorite Felicity Kendal role?