Hi-de-Hi! sitcom star Ruth Madoc dies aged 79

Ruth Madoc has died at the age of 79 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Star of the screen and stage Ruth Madoc, best known for appearing in BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, has died at the age of 79 following a fall, her agent has confirmed.

The actress became a household name playing chief yellowcoat Gladys Pugh in BBC One’s hugely successful TV series about a holiday camp in the late 1950s.