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Emmerdale Farm's 'Annie Sugden' dies aged 100

PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2019 11:28 pm
by dutchman
Original Emmerdale star Sheila Mercier has died at the age of 100

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The news was confirmed by an Emmerdale spokesperson on Friday (December 13), who said in a statement: "It's always sad to hear of the death of an actor who played a significant part in Emmerdale’s success. Even more so when that actor was in the very first episode and around whose family the show was built.

"Annie Sugden embodied all the virtues of Yorkshire ... she was hard working, resilient, determined, down to earth and didn’t suffer fools gladly. Sheila had many of those qualities too, putting the needs of the programme above her own and always delivering a great performance come rain or shine. She will be greatly missed."

Former Emmerdale cast member Frederick Pyne (aka Matt Skilbeck) first shared her passing on social media.

"Sad to tell all you Emmerdale fans that Sheila Mercier, Annie Sugden, died peacefully in her sleep," Pyne wrote. "She would have been 101 years old on New Years Day. She was a great character and wonderful to work with."

Current cast member Claire King led tributes, tweeting: "RIP Sheila Mercier, the beating heart of Emmerdale, never forgotten, so many wonderful memories, love and condolences to all her family."

A message from the British Soap Awards also read: "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."

Mercier was an original cast member on the ITV soap as Annie Sugden, the head-strong matriarch of the Sugden family.

Over the years, viewers watched as Annie weathered being widowed twice, survived the classic farmhouse fire and the 1993's infamous plane crash storyline that attracted upwards of 18 million viewers.

Mercier was a mainstay on the soap since its very first episode in 1972, though she noticeably slowed down by the late 1980s.

She chose to quit the soap in 1994, with her character Annie deciding to move to Spain after being widowed for the second time — yet she did make several more guest appearances, including one in 2009 for a tribute to on-screen son Jack Sugden.

Mercier's long acting career began in the 1930s, and included dozens of notable roles on stage throughout the 1940s and 1950s. She was married to actor Peter Mercier and the couple had two children.


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