Mollie Sugden Dies Aged 86

Mollie Sugden has died, aged 86.

The TV star passed away in hospital in Surrey, England on Wednesday (01Jul09) after a long running illness, according to her agent.

Her twin sons Robin and Simon were by her bedside.

Sugden shot to fame in Brit sitcom Are You Being Served? in 1972 and appeared in a string of other television shows, including The Liver Birds and long-running soap opera Coronation Street.

David Croft, one of the Are You Being Served? writers, remembers the actress as a "marvellous character" who loved to make people laugh.

He says, "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."

Sugden is survived by her two sons and several grandchildren.