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| Actress Mollie Sugden dies at 86 | Actress Mollie Sugden dies at 86 |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Actress Mollie Sugden has died at the age of 86, her agent has said. | Actress Mollie Sugden has died at the age of 86, her agent has said. |
| The TV star, best known for playing Mrs Slocombe in long-running BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, died at the Royal Surrey Hospital after a long illness. | The TV star, best known for playing Mrs Slocombe in long-running BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, died at the Royal Surrey Hospital after a long illness. |
| The Yorkshire-born actress's twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside, agent Joan Reddin said. | The Yorkshire-born actress's twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside, agent Joan Reddin said. |
| David Croft, one of the writers of Are You Being Served?, remembered her as a "marvellous character" who would never turn down chances to make people laugh. | David Croft, one of the writers of Are You Being Served?, remembered her as a "marvellous character" who would never turn down chances to make people laugh. |
| "She would never refuse any sort of comedy situation. No matter how undignified it was, she would always go along with it. She was marvellously funny," he said. | "She would never refuse any sort of comedy situation. No matter how undignified it was, she would always go along with it. She was marvellously funny," he said. |
| 'Lovely person' | 'Lovely person' |
| Actor Frank Thornton, who played Captain Peacock in the sitcom, told the BBC she was part of a very happy team. | Actor Frank Thornton, who played Captain Peacock in the sitcom, told the BBC she was part of a very happy team. |
| "We all enjoyed each other's company, which, if you're doing comedy, is rather necessary," he said. | "We all enjoyed each other's company, which, if you're doing comedy, is rather necessary," he said. |
| Mollie Sugden had a long and successful acting career | Mollie Sugden had a long and successful acting career |
| "You can't play comedy with people you dislike. Mollie, of course, was an excellent comedian." | |
| Ms Reddin, who began representing Sugden in the 1960s, said the actress had become a "very close friend". | Ms Reddin, who began representing Sugden in the 1960s, said the actress had become a "very close friend". |
| "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 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." | "She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. She was a great professional." |
| FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/default.stm">More from Today programme | |
| Sugden, who lived in Surrey, was married to fellow actor William Moore, best known for his role as Ronnie Corbett's father in sitcom Sorry! | |
| But she never fully recovered from his death nine years ago, Ms Reddin said. | But she never fully recovered from his death nine years ago, Ms Reddin said. |
| "They were very much in love. She started to go down when he died." | "They were very much in love. She started to go down when he died." |
| Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1922, Sugden attended the local grammar school before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. | Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in 1922, Sugden attended the local grammar school before training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. |
| TV break | |
| She went on to serve a long apprenticeship in repertory theatre before television gave her a taste of fame - and it was while treading the boards in 1956 that she met her husband. | She went on to serve a long apprenticeship in repertory theatre before television gave her a taste of fame - and it was while treading the boards in 1956 that she met her husband. |
| They married two years later, when she was 35 and he was 39. Their twin sons were born six years later. | They married two years later, when she was 35 and he was 39. Their twin sons were born six years later. |
| Sugden found early TV success with comedy series Hugh and I in 1962 and in Coronation Street as the gossiping Nellie Harvey. | Sugden found early TV success with comedy series Hugh and I in 1962 and in Coronation Street as the gossiping Nellie Harvey. |
| Sugden starred alongside Wendy Richard in Are You Being Served? | |
| But it was The Liver Birds in the late 1960s and early 1970s that enabled her to make her first real impact, as Nerys Hughes' snobbish mother Mrs Hutchinson. | But it was The Liver Birds in the late 1960s and early 1970s that enabled her to make her first real impact, as Nerys Hughes' snobbish mother Mrs Hutchinson. |
| And then in 1972 came Are You Being Served? and the role she became best known for - the blue-rinsed Betty Slocombe, with her affectation of middle-class gentility and her outrageous use of the double-entendre. | And then in 1972 came Are You Being Served? and the role she became best known for - the blue-rinsed Betty Slocombe, with her affectation of middle-class gentility and her outrageous use of the double-entendre. |
| Sugden went on to have her own slot on consumer programme That's Life and even found new fame in the US where re-runs of Are You Being Served? transformed both Sugden and co-star John Inman into cult figures in the early 1990s. | Sugden went on to have her own slot on consumer programme That's Life and even found new fame in the US where re-runs of Are You Being Served? transformed both Sugden and co-star John Inman into cult figures in the early 1990s. |
| Are you a fan of Mollie Sugden? Share your memories of Mollie Sugden with us by filling in the form below. | Are you a fan of Mollie Sugden? Share your memories of Mollie Sugden with us by filling in the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |