Maureen Lipman was officially made a Dame this week, collecting her honor from Prince Charles during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. We’re marking the occasion by making this smart, articulate, and accomplished actress our British Icon of the Week. Here are just 10 of the reasons we’ve always admired and respected her.
1. In the late '80s and early '90s, she starred in an iconic series of TV commercials for British Telecom (BT).
Lipman portrayed the warm and talkative grandmother Beattie Bellman, a role she's still associated with today. An ad in which Beattie tells her teenage grandson that he's "got an ology" – because sociology was one of the only exams he passed – was so popular it even spawned a spin-off book.
2. She's a memorable Doctor Who guest star.
Lipman starred in the 2006 episode "The Idiot's Lantern" as The Wire, a displaced alien entity who tries to regain a physical body by sucking energy from people watching Queen Elizabeth II's coronation on TV.
3. She's become a favorite on Coronation Street.
Lipman has played Evelyn Plummer, a character described by one of the show's producers as "eye-wateringly withering," since 2018. Evelyn is definitely known for her sharp tongue, but over time she's also shown a more compassionate and maternal side that has made her a terrific, fully rounded character.
4. Last year, when she was unable to shoot Coronation Street due to the U.K.'s social distancing rules, she kept busy by starring in a one-woman play live-streamed from an empty Manchester theater.
Lipman won great acclaim for her performance in Rose as an octogenarian recalling her incredibly traumatic experiences during the Holocaust. 
5. She does a brilliant impression of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Lipman portrayed Thatcher in the 1985 comedy movie Water. In this fascinating interview clip, she explains how she perfected the Iron Lady's distinctive speaking voice. 
6. She tells it like it is.
According to Radio Times, Lipman had this to say about her stint on the U.K. version of Gogglebox: "They’re not really interested in our opinions on what they’re giving us. I’d seen Gogglebox and I thought: ‘Oh, [ours] is the grown-up version, is it? I’m going to go on, and make a lot of comment now about the oeuvre and ‘I did like his first trilogy, but then I felt in some ways that perhaps over the years…’ But it’s your reaction to 12 dangling willies they want. They’re searching for ways to make me go: 'Urgh!' So I thought: 'Well, actually, no, life is too short to watch a series of hopeless men dangle their bits and pieces in my direction. So I’m going'."
7. She starred in the popular late '70s sitcom Agony.
Lipman played Jane Lucas, a successful aunt whose personal life is a bit of a mess. She reprised the role in a '90s revival series Agony Again. 

8. She appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Pianist.
Lipman plays Edwarda, the mother of Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish composer of Jewish descent who manages to survive the German occupation of Warsaw and the Holocaust. 
9. She’s an experienced stage actress.
In the ’70s, Lipman was a member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and Laurence Olivier’s company at London’s National Theatre. Check out footage of her performing in the 1998 West End revival of Oklahoma! opposite none other than Hugh Jackman. 
10. And finally, she has no intention of retiring any time soon.
"Since I became 70, I regularly get asked that. Believe me, the years go bloody fast, and you still feel exactly the same — I don’t understand why people don’t ask me to go out clubbing with them," she told The Sun earlier this year. "I still love acting, I can’t wait to get my outfit on and do my work. I like being spotted in the street, even with a mask and a trilby on. I like people saying, ‘We love you in Corrie,’ or ‘Why the hell are you in Corrie?’ The enthusiasm remains throughout your life."
Have we missed out one of your favorite Maureen Lipman roles?