Her mother, Anne (nee Forsyth)[4] was a painter, and her father, Frank James Connell,[5] an architect and town planner in Edinburgh.

[6][7] After leaving St George's School for Girls[8] in Edinburgh, Forsyth trained as a secretary before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she won the Emile Littler Award.

[10] She guest-starred in a number of other television shows such as The Bill, Doctor Who (The Evil of the Daleks, 1967), Agatha Christie's Poirot and Coronation Street.

[10] Forsyth appeared in the 2013 Christmas special of Still Open All Hours and returned for a full series on 26 December 2014 as Madge, sister of Maggie Ollerenshaw's character Mavis.

[13] In 2013, Forsyth appeared as Mrs. Jennings in Helen Edmundson's BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility[14] and as the recurring character of Pearl in Ed Reardon's Week.