Veteran actress Mollie Sugden has died at the age of 86. Her agent Joan Reddin confirmed the sad news yesterday and said that Mollie had passed away at the Royal Surrey Hospital “following a long illness.”

She added that her sons, Robert and Simon Moore, were with their mother when she died.

Tributes from those who’d worked with Mollie poured in yesterday and added to Joan Reddin’s own tribute in which she said Mollie had been a “very close friend”.

She added, “She had had a long illness and various problems but it was very quick in the end…

“Her twin boys were with her and she faded away.

“She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. She was a great professional.”

Ms Reddin added that since Mollie’s husband William died nine years ago, Mollie had been in decline.

“They were very much in love. She started to go down when he died.”

Here’s a clip showing Mollie playing the wonderfully OTT Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?

What a great asset to British comedy she was and she’ll be sadly missed.