Tributes as star of Doncaster sitcom Open All Hours dies at 84

Tributes have been paid to actress Stephanie Cole, one of the stars of Doncaster sitcom Open All Hours following her death at the age of 84.

The actress starred as fearsome battleaxe Mrs Featherstone in the 1970s and 80s cornershop sitcom filmed in Balby with Ronnie Barker and Sir David Jason and reprised the role for rebooted show Still Open All Hours.

Dressed entirely in black and dubbed ‘The Black Widow’ by Barker’s Arkwright character, she was one the TV shop’s best known customers.

She was also known for roles in Tenko and Coronation Street.

A statement from her agent John Grant, issued on behalf of her family, confirmed the actress had been living with Alzheimer's for several years.

"Stephanie was an extraordinary talent whose long and distinguished career included many iconic performances in theatre and television," the statement read.

"She brought joy to millions through her many much-loved roles in sitcom and drama. She will also be remembered for her tireless work supporting mental health charities."

She went on to enjoy a lengthy career that spanned TV, radio and film and was known for playing Dr Beatrice Mason in the 1980s BBC wartime TV drama Tenko.

The series chronicled the lives of British women in Singapore after the Japanese invasion and their consequent confinement in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

Cole, in her breakout role, played a doctor who struggled to look after the women's health, opposite Ann Bell and Claire Oberman.

During this same period, Cole also played the moody customer Mrs Delphine Featherstone, aka "The Black Widow" in the Ronnie Barker-starring Open All Hours.

She would go on to win the award for best TV comedy actress for her part as the sharp-tongued photojournalist Diana Trent in Waiting For God.

But she cited her earlier performance as Muriel in Alan Bennett's monologue Soldiering On, as one of her proudest moments. The series also starred Maggie Smith and Julie Walters.

Her stage highlight, by her account, was in a West End production of A Passionate Woman.

Cole also played Roy Cropper's mother in ITV soap Coronation Street for two years from 2011

Cole also played the aunt of Martin Clunes's titular character in the ITV medical drama Doc Martin.

Her other notable roles included Keeping Mum, and the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Cabin Pressure - alongside a fast-rising Benedict Cumberbatch - as Carolyn Knapp-Shappey.

"One of the joys of my character was how strong and feisty she is: she had the upper hand over the men, for the most part," she told The Guardian in 2018.

"Carolyn told it like it was and took no [rubbish]. We've all met women like her. She was very easy to put on, and I confess perhaps there's a little of her bossiness in me."

The actress's stage work included Driving Miss Daisy, Noises Off and King Lear.

In 2004, she returned to her debut theatre role in Blithe Spirit aged 63 when the play was revived at the West End's Savoy Theatre.

She also appeared in Midsomer Murders and Doctors. Her last major TV role was appearing opposite Greg Davies in his BBC comedy series The Cleaner in 2021.

Cole was married twice – first to playwright and theatrical fight director Henry Marshall, whom she divorced in 1988.

A decade later, she married fellow actor Peter Birrel, 30 years after the pair first appeared together in a production of Richard II at the Bristol Old Vic.

Birrel died in 2004. Cole is survived by a daughter from her first marriage, Emma Battcock.

Cole was made an OBE in 2005, for her services to drama, the elderly and mental health charities.