Lynda Baron dies aged 82
- Open All Hours star Lynda Baron has died aged 82
- She is best known for playing Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in the sitcom, and its sequel Still Open All Hours
- Her agent says: "We have lost a leading light of our world"
Lynda Baron, best known for playing Nurse Gladys Emmanuel in Open All Hours and its sequel Still Open All Hours, has died at the age of 82.
Baron has also appeared in comedy shows such as The Rag Trade, Up Pompeii!, A Roof Over My Head, dinnerladies, Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt, Goodnight Sweetheart, Last Of The Summer Wine and Accidental Farmer.
Her other roles include starring in the 1990s children's show Come Outside and played Linda Clarke, the mother of Jane Beale, in EastEnders.
Born in Urmston, Lancashire, in 1939, she was nominated for a BAFTA in 2011 for her role in The Road To Coronation Street, a one-off drama about the early days of the ITV soap opera. Having originally trained as a dancer as the Royal Academy of Dance, she also enjoyed a wide array of West End roles throughout her long career, but it was her television comedy roles for which she would become best known.
Grocer's shop-set sitcom Open All Hours, in which Baron co-starred alongside Ronnie Barker as shop owner Arkwright and David Jason as his nephew Granville, launched in 1973 as a pilot. Baron joined from the first series, and it would run for three more, ending only in 1985.
The character of Nurse Gladys Emmanuel lived across the road from Arkwright's shop, with her elderly mother. Arkwright longs to marry her, but viewers watched as she resists his persistent pressures.
Baron reprised the role in 2013 when follow-up series Still Open All Hours launched, but only stayed for the first two series. Series 6 of the comedy aired in 2019 and a seventh series is on the way but has been delayed by covid.
Baron's agent, Donna French, said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved client Lynda Baron.
"She was a wonderful actress and a great friend. Her iconic roles of Nurse Gladys in Open All Hours and Aunt Mabel in Come Outside were loved by all generations.
"Renowned for her leading roles in West End musicals and dramatic productions alike, we have lost a leading light of our world. We extend our deepest condolences to her daughter Sarah, her son Morgan and all her family."