Jean Fergusson, who played the feisty Marina in Last of the Summer Wine for 25 years, has died at the age of 74.
The television and theatre star, born in Yorkshire, died at home in the early hours of Thursday, a statement from her agents, Scott Marshall Partners, said It read: "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of actress Jean Fergusson."
She was best known to millions for playing the opinionated Marina in the British comedy from 1985 until it was discontinued in 2010. She also appeared in Coronation Street as different characters in 1987 and 1999 and as Dorothy Hoyle from 2010 to 2011.
The actress's death comes just over a month after the death of former Last of the Summer Wine colleague Juliette Kaplan, who played battleaxe Pearl Sibshaw. Ms Kaplan was 80 when she died from cancer in October.
The statement added: “Jean was a much-loved and respected actress, a brilliant comedienne, raconteur, and the life and soul of any gathering. She will be much missed by her many friends and colleagues.
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“Jean passed away, at home, in the early hours of Thursday November 14."
Ms Fergusson, described as “the life and soul of any gathering”, is survived by her sister Marjorie, brother-in-law Roger and her nephews Daniel and William.”
Comedy actress Vicki Michelle, best known for 'Allo 'Allo, paid tribute to Ms Fergusson, sharing a picture of the two of them together on social media.
“So shocked and saddened to hear Jean Fergusson has passed," she said.
"Lovely lady, fabulous actress and wonderful supporter of the Heritage Foundation. I only saw her Sunday at Su Pollard’s birthday party.
"She said she wasn’t feeling too well. Ben Stock [an actor friend] d I planned to take her out to lunch next week. Can’t believe she’s gone.”
Mr Stock added: "Like many friends, I’m so sad at the passing of dear Jean Fergusson.
"Always the first to book tickets, she was such a supportive friend. I will miss her and the fabulous lunches at The Grove."
Ms Fergusson was born on 30 December 1944, and grew up in the village of Woolley near Wakefield.
"I have very fond memories of a happy childhood, and going to the village school - long closed now, of course," she said in 2009. "We'd stretch a line across the road and make that into our 'tennis net'. There was so little traffic back then that we rarely had to take it down."
The family later moved to Wales, where Fergusson learned her acting craft at The Castle (the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama).
She had forged a successful career in theatre and appeared in several television shows, including All Creatures Great & Small, Crossroads and The Practice, before taking on the role that would define her for the next two decades.
READ MORE: Farewell to Foggy - Last of the Summer Wine actor Brian Wilde dies
She joined Last of the Summer Wine in 1985 as the peroxide blonde love interest of Howard Sibshaw (Robert Fyfe), the pair conducting their affair behind his wife Pearl’s back.
Fergusson first played the character in a stage version of the show in 1984 before joining the TV series.
"Funnily enough more towards the end [of the series], I was always the one in the low-cut blouse and the mini skirt or the shorts," she said in 2017.
"When I got - shall we say - a little bit older, it wasn't quite the same getting all dressed up in the morning in a pair of little mini shorts and a very low-cut blouse.
"But we battled through. We got on the bike and off we went."
Prior to starring in Corrie as Dorothy Hoyle, which saw her involved in a kidnapping storyline, she had previously appeared in two minor roles in the soap in 1987 and 1999.
Away from the small screen, Fergusson enjoyed a successful career on the stage, most notably the play She Knows You Know, which she wrote and starred in.
Her role as the legendary funnywoman Hylda Baker at London’s Vaudeville Theatre saw her nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award in 1998.
Ms Baker died in 1986 - and Ms Fergusson said in at the time the play was launched she had the comic's help in doing it.
"I don't hear Hylda but I do feel sometimes there is something there, guiding me in the right direction," said Jean, who took up the ghost of Hylda's life after being told she had similar mannerisms to her.
In recent years, Fergusson appeared on a variety of celebrity quiz shows, including Pointless, and she was also a pantomime headliner.
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