Late Emmerdale star Sheila Mercier had a secret daughter who was born from rape and given up for adoption.
The actress, , served in the RAF during World War Two before embracing a career on TV.
She was married to fellow actor Peter Mercier and they had a son, Nigel.
However, Sheila was hiding a tragic secret as she was raped by an officer during the conflict and fell pregnant.
She gave birth to a little girl, who was put up for adoption.
Thirty years later, Mercier was contacted by her long lost daughter, named Janet, who had managed to track down her birth mother three decades after being adopted.
Mercier opened up about the experience in a heart-wrenching passage in her 1994 autobiography, Annie's Song: My Life & Emmerdale.
The actress is best known for playing Annie Sugden in hit ITV soap Emmerdale.
er death aged 100 was confirmed by TV bosses tonight.
A spokesperson from Emmerdale said: "Its always sad to hear of the death of an actor who played a significant part in Emmerdale’s success.
"Even more so when that actor was in the very first episode and around whose family the show was built. ‘Annie Sugden’ embodied all the virtues of Yorkshire...
"She was hard working, resilient, determined, down to earth and didn’t suffer fools gladly. Sheila had many of those qualities too, putting the needs of the programme above her own and always delivering a great performance come rain or shine. She will be greatly missed."
Mercier was one of the first castmembers on the soap when it launched as Emmerdale Farm back in 1972.
The actress stayed with the show from 1972 until 1994, but continued to make guest appearances.
She notably returned for the funeral of Annie's son Joe in 1995, and was last seen onscreen in 2009.
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