Entertainment
Una Stubbs dead: Her best acting roles from Aunt Sally to Sherlock’s Mrs Hudson
Una Subbs was a well known and loved face on British TV (Picture: Rex/Getty/ITV)
Una Subbs has sadly died at the age of 84.
Known primarily for her role in films and series including EastEnders, Worzel Gummidge and Sherlock, she was an extraordinary talent who will be missed by many.
Her family confirmed the news of her death in a statement, saying Una died at her home in Edinburgh.
They said: ‘Mum passed away quietly today with her family around her, in Edinburgh. We ask for privacy and understanding at this most difficult and sad of times.’
Una’s agent also told BBC News that she had been ill for sometime.
The actress first found fame in the 1960s, appearing in films including Sir Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life.
Una enjoyed a career in film and TV just over 60 years (Picture: Getty Images)
It was on television that her star power really rose, after she landed the role of Rita on Till Death Us Do Part in 1966, playing the character until 1975, before reprising the role in Till Death… and the sequel In Sickness and In Health.
Following the news of the death, Metro.co.uk has taken a look back at some of Una’s most memorable on-screen roles.
Una Stubbs acting career – from Sherlock to Worzel Gummidge and EastEnders
Summer Holiday
Una’s first major on-screen role was in Sir Cliff Richard’s film Summer Holiday (Picture: Rex)
The 1963 film was one of Una’s first major on-screen roles and helped to kickstart her career.
Starring Sir Cliff Richard, the musical sees Don (Cliff) and his friends Cyril (Melvyn Hayes), Steve (Teddy Green), and Edwin (Jeremy Bulloch) transform a double-decker bus into a holiday caravan, as they drive across continental Europe.
Una played the part of Sandy, a young women who joins the trio on their trip.
Till Death Us Do Part
Una’s career breakthrough came with her role as Rita Rawlins in Till Death Us Do Part (Picture: Studio Canal/Rex)
Starring as Rita Rawlins, this BBC series, first broadcast between 1965 and 1968 and again between 1972 and 1975, saw Una’s career go from strength to strength.
The show became a huge success as although it was a sitcom, it also dealt with aspects of British working-class life, as well as racial and political issues that were prevalent in the 1960s.
Rita was the wife of Mike Rawlins (Anthony Booth), a socialist layabout from Liverpool. Her parents included Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell), a working-class man with anti-socialist views, and his wife Else (Dandy Nicholas).
Worzel Gummidge
Una’s role as Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge is one of her most recognisable (Picture: ITV/Rex)
One of Una’s most recognisable TV roles was of Aunt Sally in the ITV series Worzel Gummidge, which was broadcast between 1979 and 1981 and based on the series of books by Barbara Euphan Todd.
Aunt Sally was a life-size fairground doll, and a femme fatale to the titular character (Jon Pertwee).
This was changed significantly from the original book series, which portrayed Aunt Sally as an actual Aunt to Worzel.
EastEnders
Una played a short stint as Caroline Bishop in EastEnders in 2006 (Picture: BBC)
In 2006, Una headed to Albert Square as Caroline Bishop, the maternal aunt of Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton), who acted as a surrogate mother to her when her biological mother died during childbirth.
Despite only appearing in the BBC soap for a number of months that year, she certainly made her mark on-screen.
Caroline visited Walford for Honey’s second wedding to Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), and arrives alongside her father, Jack Edwards (Nicky Henson), which makes Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) jealous.
She later returned to the square for Honey’s third surprise wedding, and accompanied her in hospital when she went into labour.
When Honey contemplates giving up her daughter Janet (Grace) for adoption, she visits Caroline, who revealed she had once done the same thing.
Sherlock
Una starred as Mrs Hudson, the landlady of 221B Baker Street, in Sherlock (Picture: BBC)
In the BBC crime drama Sherlock, Una starred as Mrs Hudson, portraying the character for all four series, which aired between 2010 and 2017.
Mrs Hudson is the landlady of 221B Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) resides. She offers Sherlock a lower rent after he helped in ensuring that her husband was executed for his involvement in a double murder in Florida.
Although she repeatedly tries to tell Sherlock she is not their housekeeper, she often acts like she is, and is horrified to discover the detective is keeping human body parts in his kitchen appliances for experimentation.
She also consistently believes that Sherlock is romantically involved in a relationship with Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman), despite John’s repeated protests that he is not gay.
More: Sherlock
In the series two episode A Scandal In Belgravia, Sherlock throws an agent out of a window upon discovering he had tortured Mrs Hudson, and later says that ‘England would fall’ if she were to leave Baker Street.
In the series three episode His Last Vow, Mrs Hudson’s full name is revealed as Martha Louise Hudson, with her maiden name as Sissons.
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