Hi-de-Hi!'s Ruth Madoc dies at 79

Actress had been hospitalised following an accident

Hi-de-Hi! star Ruth Madoc has died at the age of 79, her agent has confirmed.

Phil Belfield of Belfield & Ward described his client as a 'one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many'.

The agency posted on Twitter: 'Our darling Ruth Madoc unexpectedly passed away yesterday. A true legend of stage & screen, from Gladys Pugh to Little Britain & Calendar Girls & a great year ahead with some screen work and a UK tour. Our hearts are broken. We will not see her like again! Rest well Ruthie.'

Madoc was rushed to hospital after an accident earlier this week. A statement, posted on her Instagram page at the time, gave no details but read: '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.'

Just yesterday, she posted to the same account: 'Hiya everyone please don’t worry ! I’m well and I’ll soon be back to normal... I’m doing really well and will soon be back to normal.'

Tributes were led by Jeffrey Holland, who played comic Spike in Hi-de-Hi!

He told the BBC 'We were together for a long time, not just in Hi-de-Hi! the TV series but we did the stage show, the summer seasons with it and I did several pantomimes with Ruth as well over the years back in the 1980s so we've got a lot of happy memories to draw on and she was a wonderful performer and she'll be greatly missed.

'She was a very talented musical performer with a wonderful singing voice, she has a history that goes back a long way. It was a joy to work with someone like that, we had such laughs.

'I was very lucky to work with that comedy crew, we never stopped laughing from morning until night. I will have those memories of Ruth forever, she left us a wonderful legacy with Gladys Pugh. I was very lucky to do a job like that. We had such a laugh together, it really was such fun.'

Born in Norwich in April 1943 and brought up in Llansamlet near Swansea, Madoc's career began in The Black and White Minstrel Show after graduating from drama school Rada.

In 1971 she played Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and the following year she appeared as Mrs Dai Bread Two in the film of Under Milk Wood. She also provided one of the alien voices in the Cadbury's Smash commercials in the 1970s.

But her fame soared when she was cast as Gladys Pugh, the activities organiser at Maplins holiday camp in the Croft and Perry sitcom Hi-de-Hi! which rand from 1980 to 1988.

Her later roles included the ill-fated BBC sitcom Big Top, alongside Amanda Holden, John Thomson and Tony Robinson and playing the mother of Matt Lucas's 'only gay in the village' Daffyd Thomas in Little Britain.

Lucas and David Walliams posted a statement on social media saying: 'We are both shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of Ruth Madoc. We grew up watching her iconic and genius performance as Gladys Pugh in 'Hi-De-Hi' and were thrilled when she agreed to come on board 'Little Britain' as Dafydd's mum. She was brilliant in the show and an absolute delight to work with. We send our love and condolences to her family.'

Madoc had been due to tour next year with a stage version of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

She leaves a daughter Lowri and son Rhys.