Veteran actress Una Stubbs has died at the age of 84, her agent has confirmed.
In a career on the screen dating back to the 1950s, her varied roles included Mrs Hudson in Sherlock, Aunt Sally in the original Worzel Gummidge and Rita in the sitcom Till Death Do Us Part.
Stubbs also had parts in The Catherine Tate Show, EastEnders, the Cliff Richard movie Summer Holiday and Benidorm, while in 2015 she co-hosted The Big Painting Challenge.
Speaking to BBC News, her agent revealed that she had been ill for several months and died in Edinburgh with her family by her side.
Her son, the composer Christian Henson, wrote on Twitter: "Some of you may have known her as Rita, as Sally as Bat or Hudson but to my two brothers and I she was known as Mum. Thanks for everything Mum RIP."
Back when I was a journalist, I made a list of the five nicest people I had ever interviewed. Una Stubbs was on there. (I had a chance to tell her this at the NTAs a few years ago.) #RIPUnaStubbs 😢
— Anne Hegerty (@anne_hegerty) August 12, 2021
Gyles Brandreth paid tribute on Twitter, writing: "Oh, this is so sad. Such a funny, lovely, gifted lady - a marvellous actress with a special style & a great (and impish) sense of humour. I first met her when she was in Cowardy Custard in 1972 & last saw her at Nicky Henson's funeral last year. A sad day."
Stubbs is survived by her three children.
Neil Wilkes
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