Actor Stephanie Cole, best known for her roles on the TV shows Coronation Street, Tenko, and Doc Martin, has died at the age of 84.
Her agent John Grant confirmed the news on Friday in a statement issued on behalf of her family.
Cole had died that morning, after “living with Alzheimer’s disease for some years”, he said.
“Stephanie was an extraordinary talent whose long and distinguished career included many iconic performances in theatre and television.
“She brought joy to millions through her many much-loved roles in sitcom and drama. She will also be remembered for her tireless work supporting mental health charities.”
Grant added that the family was requesting privacy “during this incredibly difficult time”.
Cole was born in Warwickshire in 1941 and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
She played Dr Bea Mason in the 1980s TV series Tenko, a drama about a group of British women living in Singapore during the Second World War and their subsequent confinement in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
Later, she advocated for the real-life survivors of the camps, joining forces with British internees in 1998 to demand an apology for the way they were treated.
Cole appeared in the ITV comedy-drama Doc Martin as Jean Norton, the aunt of the titular character, from 2004-2009 and in Coronation Street as Sylvia Goodwin, the mother of Roy Cropper, from 2011-2013.
She won the British Soap Award for best comedy performance for the latter role.
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She was also known for her appearances in Open All Hours and Waiting For God, for which she received the 1992 Best TV Comedy Actress award at the British Comedy Awards (now called the National Comedy Awards).
Cole also had an extensive career in the theatre, with roles in King Lear, A Passionate Woman, Noises Off and Talking Heads: A Cream Cracker Under The Settee.
In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to drama, the elderly and mental health charities.
Cole was married twice – first to playwright and fight director Henry Marshall, whom she divorced in 1998, and next to fellow actor Peter Birrel, who died in 2004.
She is survived by a daughter, Emma Battcock, who also works in the entertainment industry.
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