Actress Sheila Mercier has died aged 100. The Emmerdale legend, known to millions as Annie Sugden, has been confirmed to have passed away.
The show icon died peacefully in her sleep according to former Yorkshire Television co-star Frederick Pyne, who played Matt Skilbeck in Emmerdale Farm from its launch in 1972 until 1989.
Mercier had a long career on stage before her television career. Donald Wolfit had talent spotted her and she toured with Wolfit’s own Shakespeare company in 1939. During the Second World War she joined the WAAF division of the Royal Air Force, serving in fighter command, eventually becoming adjutant. After the war, she worked in repertory theatre until 1951.
In 1972, she was cast in the role she is best known for, the matriarch Annie Sugden, one of the principal characters in the new British soap opera Emmerdale Farm (later simply Emmerdale).She appeared as a main cast member until 1994 with rare occasional appearances since, notably for on-screen son Joe’s funeral in June 1995.
Speaking on social media Frederick said: Sad to tell all you Emmerdale fans that Sheila Mercier, Annie Sugden, died peacefully in her sleep… She would have been 101 years old on New Years Day. She was a great character and wonderful to work with.’
Following her death, many of her former colleagues have taken to social media to pay tributes including Kelvin Fletcher, who is currently competing in Strictly Come Dancing.
Posting to Twitter he said: ‘Sad news just in… Sheila Mercier aka Annie Sugden who played Kelvin’s grandma in #Emmerdale has passed away at the age 100. Thoughts go out to her family and friends at this sad time.’
Sad news just in… Sheila Mercier aka Annie Sugden who played Kelvin’s grandma in #Emmerdale has passed away at the age 100. Thoughts go out to her family and friends at this sad time. pic.twitter.com/yrEw0Pk32n
— Kelvin Fletcher (@StrictlyKelvin) December 13, 2019
RIP Sheila Mercier. Emmerdale’s original leading lady and the very definition of a matriarch. Our thoughts are with her friends, family and the Emmerdale team tonight. #Emmerdale #AnnieSugden
— British Soap Awards (@SoapAwards) December 13, 2019
Claire King, who played Kim Tate in the ITV soap also paid a tribute she commented: ‘RIP Sheila Mercier, the beating heart of Emmerdale, never forgotten, so many wonderful memories, love and condolences to all her family x’
RIP Sheila Mercier, the beating heart of Emmerdale, never forgotten, so many wonderful memories, love and condolences to all her family x pic.twitter.com/ysbPmukt3b
— Claire King (@claireking101) December 13, 2019
Mercier was last seen in Emmerdale in 2009, where Annie attended the funeral of Jack Sugden.
She was widowed when her husband, actor Peter Mercier, died in 1993, after 42 years of marriage. The couple’s son, Nigel Mercier (6 December 1954 – 6 January 2017) also worked in the TV industry, initially with BBC Television News at Television Centre as a videotape editor and then at LWT.
In 1994 Mercier’s autobiography, Annie’s Song: My Life & Emmerdale was published. In it, she disclosed that she had been raped by an officer early in the war, had become pregnant and given her baby daughter up for adoption, and had been contacted by her daughter 30 years later
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