Sugden, born in 1922 in Keighley, West Yorkshire, became a household name after appearing in brightly-coloured wigs as the social-climbing matriarch in the comedy series between 1972 and 1975.

She also portrayed Mrs Hutchinson, another battleaxe, in The Liver Birds.

Joan Reddin, Sugden's agent, said that her twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside when she died at the Royal Surrey Hospital on Tuesday after a long illness, The Times Online reported.

"She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. She was a great professional," said Reddin, who represented Sugden for 30 years.

Sugden, who lived in Surrey, never recovered from the death of her husband, William Moore, who was also an actor, Reddin said.

"They were very much in love. She started to go down when he died."

Sugden starred in many other comedies, including Come Back Mrs Noah, That's My Boy and My Husband And I, which she made with Moore.

She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her early career was spent in repertory theatre, where in Swansea in 1956 she met Moore, who she married two years later.