[1] Cornwell's father served in the RAF and she grew up in Britain, where she attended a convent school, with Penelope Keith.
What A Lovely War,[6] her own TV comedy series Moody and Pegg,[6] and a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
On television she has appeared in Dixon of Dock Green, Cakes and Ale, Bergerac, Doctor Who (the serial Paradise Towers), several episodes of Farrington of the F.O., The Famous Five, The Bill, Heartbeat, The Royal, Miss Marple, Midsomer Murders and The Devil's Lieutenant.
She is best known, however, for her portrayal of lovable working-class housewife Daisy in all 44 episodes of the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, which ran for 5 series from 1990 to 1995.
Cornwell's books include her autobiography Adventures of a Jelly Baby (ISBN 0-283-07001-3) published in 2005 which describes her childhood growing up in Britain during the war, and then in Australia where her family emigrated.