‘SOME PEOPLE DECIDE TO BE MISERABLE AND YOU JUST THINK “WHY?”'

WITH A DIVERSE CAREER SPANNING SIX DECADES SUMMER HOLIDAY WORZEL GUMMIDGE AND SHERLOCK STAR UNA STUBBS WAS LOVED BY MILLIONS AND MUCH MOURNED WHEN SHE PASSED AWAY THIS MONTH

- LISA MARKS

There are some celebrities who are loved because they make you feel good the second you see them on screen. Una Stubbs was one of those people and so much more.

The actress, who passed away on 12 August at the age of 84, exuded a rare sparkle and warm energy – even when she was sternly berating Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes as his exasperated landlady and housekeeper, Mrs Hudson.

Una’s performance in the well-received 2010 detective reboot won her a new legion of fans, adding to those who had already been enchanted by her talents. Starring in many hits including Cliff Richard’s Summer Holiday, sitcom Till Death Do Us Part and the classic TV version of Worzel Gummidge, her career was forged through sheer determination and a love of the arts.

Una was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on 1 May 1937, but grew up in Hinkley, Leicestershire. Her mother Angela worked at the Denham Film Studios, while her father Clarence worked at the Shredded Wheat breakfast cereal factory. Showing an early love of dancing, young Una was sent to the La Roche School Of Dancing in Slough.