Actress and singer Ruth Madoc has died aged 79 after being rushed to hospital following an accident.
The Hi-de-Hi! star died in hospital after undergoing surgery. She was best known for playing Gladys Pugh in the 1980s holiday camp sitcom.
Tributes were paid to the star from Swansea, describing her as "one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many".
Read more: Ruth Madoc - A life lived with charm, humour and abundant talent
Phil Belfield of talent agency Belfield & Ward Ltd, said: "It is with much sadness that we have to announce the death of our dear and much loved client Ruth Madoc. Ruth passed away on the afternoon of Friday 9 December while in hospital following surgery for a fall she had earlier in the week, which had led her to have to withdraw from panto in Torquay.
"From film work such as Fiddler On The Roof and Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and her iconic TV performance as Gladys Pugh in Hi De Hi! and more recently in Little Britain and on stage with Calendar Girls (the play and the musical), plus recent acclaim in short films Skinny Fat and Cardiff, she was truly a national treasure and was looking forward to getting back on the road in 2023 with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
"A real legend of the British entertainment scene, she was one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many. She is gone far too soon. Our hearts are broken! "Thoughts are with her daughter Lowri, her son Rhys and all of her family."
Ruth Madoc was born in April 1943 and brought up in Llansamlet, Swansea. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) before winning fame playing Fruma Sarah in a film of Fiddler On The Roof in 1971.
She appeared on television as Mrs Dai Bread Two in 1972 comedy film Under Milk Wood before winning the role of Gladys in Hi-di-Hi, which ran for nine seasons between 1980 and 1988 on BBC One. The show was set in a fictional holiday camp called Maplins in 1959 and 1960, and centred on the lives of the camp's entertainers.
Ruth's character Gladys Pugh was in love with the camp entertainment manager Jeffrey, played by Simon Cadell, and later Squadron Leader Clive Dempster (pictured above), played by David Griffin.
A statement, posted on her Instagram, on Friday had said: "Following an accident earlier this week, and after medical assessment, regretfully Ruth Madoc is no longer able to appear in this year's pantomime of Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay.
"Everyone at the theatre wishes Ruth a speedy recovery. Further announcements regarding casting will take place in due course." You can get more celebrity news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Ruth added, alongside her statement: "Hiya everyone, please don’t worry ! I’m well and I’ll soon be back to normal, but unfortunately @princesstheatretorquay won’t get to have The Empress Gladys in the Panto this Christmas."
Ruth Madoc also appeared in the second series of Little Britain, as Daffyd Thomas's mother. And she is also known on the pantomime scene, with performances featured in Annie, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.
Tributes to her have already started to pour in. Blackadder and Time Team star Tony Robinson wrote: "So sad to hear my lovely friend Ruth Madoc has passed. She was not only funny and highly intelligent, she was smart, kindly, a loyal trade unionist, and wore her heart on the left. She’ll be much missed."
Singer Aled Jones wrote: "So very sad to hear of the passing of dear Ruth Madoc - a lovely person I was lucky to know. Love to her family. RIP."
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