Actor Liz Smith dies
- Liz Smith has died at the age of 95
- The actor was best known for her roles in The Vicar Of Dibley and The Royle Family
Liz Smith MBE has died at the age of 95.
Now best remembered for playing Nana in The Royle Family and baking disaster Letitia Cropley in The Vicar Of Dibley, Smith's career reaches back to 1970, when she began acting at the age of 50.
Quickly becoming a popular and highly recognisable face, she was rarely out of work until her retirement at the age of 87, having suffered a stroke.
With a wide and varied list of credits to her name - over 100 in total - she starred in comedies such as 2point4 Children, Britannia Hospital, Mann's Best Friends and Valentine Park, and played a central role in I Didn't Know You Cared. She also won a BAFTA for A Private Function, in which she played the mother of Maggie Smith's character, and was appointed MBE in 2009.
Smaller roles included guest appearances in A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, In Loving Memory, The Other 'Arf and Ripping Yarns.
A statement released this evening read: "The BAFTA award-winning actress Liz Smith has died, on Christmas Eve, at the age of 95, her family has announced."
Born as Betty Gleadle in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, in 1921, she adopted Smith as her stage name. She had been living in a retirement home on the south coast of England for a number of years.
Her death follows that of The Royle Family creator, co-writer and star, Caroline Aherne, in July.
Speaking to Radio 4, Ricky Tomlinson, who played Jim Royle, said of Smith: "We had a great time together and we were so close as a family, she would come in on her days off and just sit there."
He added: "I really, really loved her. When you get a company together like that and you work as a unit together over two or three years like that, you do become a family."
Ralf Little, who also starred in the sitcom, posted on Twitter: "Devastating to lose two members of my second family in one awful year. RIP Liz Smith. Goodbye Nana. Xxx"
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