WENDY RICHARDActress Wendy Richard was a British institution thanks to her roles in several television classics during a five-decade career. She died at the age of 65 on 26 February, 2009, after a battle with cancer.A staple comedy character actress she can be seen in episodes of Dad's Army, Up Pompeii!, The Likely Lads, On the Buses and numerous other series.But she became a household name with her long-running turn as the ingénue Miss Brahms in department store sitcom Are You Being Served? (1972-85) and its lesser known spin-off Grace & Favour (1992-92).Miss Brahms was one of the few conventionally attractive characters in the show, meaning she was constantly subjected to amorous advances over the counter. She had a straightforward nature that meant she didn't suffer fools, but most of the innuendo from characters like Mr Humphries, played by John Inman, and Mrs Slocombe went straight over her head.After the gaiety of Are You Being Served?, EastEnders saw a dramatic change of mood. She was among the original cast of the BBC soap and played the long-suffering matriarch Pauline Fowler for 22 years.During this timeher characterendured the imprisonment and subsequent death of husband Arthur, her older son Mark being diagnosed HIV positive, and estrangement from her tearaway younger son, Martin. By the time Ms Richard left the show in 2006her character had become a national icon of glumness and bad cardigans.She appeared in a couple of TV series after leaving Albert Square but was seen more frequently on chat shows, showing that her real life personality was more colourful than Pauline Fowler's. The British Soap Awards gave her a 'Lifetime Achievement' award in 2007 to go with her MBE.In October 2008 it was reported that she was suffering with aggressive breast cancer. She died at the Harley Street Clinic in London with her husband John Burns by her side.Her agent Kevin Francis said: "She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end."
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