Friends and co-stars have paid tribute to Last of the Summer Wine star Kathy Staff, who has died aged 80.
Staff played Nora Batty, famous for her curlers, wrinkled tights and razor-sharp tongue, in the long-running BBC1 comedy, making her last appearance in August at the end of the show's 29th series.
Staff also appeared in Crossroads, Coronation Street, Emmerdale Farm and the Ronnie Barker sitcom Open All Hours. She died after an illness, the BBC reported.
She played Batty from the first episode of Last of the Summer Wine, created by Roy Clarke, in 1973, and went on to appear in 243 episodes. Nora's attempts to fend off amorous advances from scruffy layabout Compo - often with a broom - were a Last of the Summer Wine staple.
Her death means Peter Sallis is one of the only original leading Summer Wine cast members left alive. Sallis, who played Norman Clegg, said: "I'm terribly upset that she's not with us, and I don't know quite for sure whether we are going to do any more [episodes] but if we do, she is going to be terribly missed."
The director of BBC Vision, Jana Bennett, who oversees the corporation's entire TV output, added: "Kathy Staff's portrayal of Nora Batty in BBC1's Last of the Summer Wine was a British institution and she was greatly loved by the BBC audience. Kathy was an extremely talented, highly versatile actress who will be sorely missed."
Brian Wilde, who played pompous ex-army corporal Foggy Dewhirst and led his pals Clegg and Compo in various hare-brained adventures, died in March, aged 80.
Bill Owen, who starred as lovable welly-wearing rogue Compo for 28 years, passed away in 1999, while Dame Thora Hird, who played village gossip Edie Pegden, died in 2003.
The vicar of Staff's church said that in real life, the actor was completely different from her formidable screen persona.
The Rev Alison Cox, the priest-in-charge at St Mark's church, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, said: "We will miss her terribly. She was a very friendly and warm woman; faithful and generous.
"She was held in great affection by all the parishioners of St Mark's and way beyond the boundaries of our church. The whole nation will mourn her passing. By her work as an actress over the years she has brought so much pleasure to millions of people."
Alan Bell, the producer of Last of the Summer Wine, said Staff's gentle nature meant she often needed prompting to bring out Nora Batty's flinty character.
"She would play a scene quite gently, and I'd say, 'But Kathy, you've got to harden up, because that's who we all love, the hard, tough Nora Batty,'" he added.
"And she said, 'Why can't I be just soft and gentle at times?' And I said, 'Maybe some time we will.'"
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