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Kathy Staff, who played Nora Batty in Last Of The Summer Wine, has died at the age of 80.

The sitcom’s producer Alan Bell said the actress had been ill for some time. ‘We're distraught, but we have very fond memories of her,’ he told BBC News.

‘She was such a good lady, she was religious, she would never do anyone any harm. But above all that, she was thoroughly professional.’

Staff, who was born in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, appeared in the very first episode of the BBC One sitcom in 1973. She appeared in a total of 243 programmes, up until last August,

She also played cleaner Doris Luke in ITV soap Crossroads and also had roles in in Emmerdale Farm, Coronation Street, and Open All Hours.

The cottage in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, used as Nora Batty’s home in the comedy was made in to a bed-and-breakfast ‘shrine’ to the character ‘fully furnished, as only Nora would approve’.

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