Wendy Richard was one of British television’s most recognisable faces, spending more than two decades at the heart of EastEnders as Pauline Fowler.
But before the awards and soap stardom, Wendy’s story began in Middlesbrough.
Born in 1943, Wendy was the only child of publicans Henry and Beatrice Emerton, who ran Middlesbrough’s Corporation Hotel before the family left the North East.
After leaving school at 15, she began working at Fortnum & Mason in London, while studying drama at the Italia Conti Academy and chasing an acting career.
Middlesbrough-born soap star Wendy Richard. (Image: IMDb)
As her career gathered momentum, Wendy even enjoyed an unlikely spell in the music charts, featuring on Mike Sarne's 1962 novelty hit Come Outside, which reached number one in the UK.
Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, Wendy steadily built her career with appearances in hit programmes including The Likely Lads, Dad's Army and Please Sir!.
But her breakthrough came in 1972, when she landed a role in hit BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?.
Wendy and the cast of Are You Being Served? (Image: Canal + Image UK Ltd.)
As the sharp-tongued sales assistant Shirley Brahms at Grace Brothers, Wendy became one of the sitcom's best-loved stars, appearing alongside household names including Mollie Sugden and John Inman.
In 1985, Wendy’s career soared again when she joined the cast of the BBC’s brand-new soap EastEnders.
Joining as Pauline Fowler in its very first episode, Wendy would become one of the most recognisable characters in the programme's history.
Wendy Richard played Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, based at BBC Elstree Studios (Image: Provided)
For more than 20 years, viewers watched Pauline endure family feuds, heartbreak, bereavement and some of the soap’s most memorable storylines.
She also became known for her signature cardigans, shopping trolley and no-nonsense attitude.
By the time Wendy left the show in 2006, she had appeared in more than 2,000 episodes, won an MBE, and would go on to earn a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards in 2007.
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Away from the screen, Wendy battled breast cancer for many years after being first diagnosed with the illness in 1996.
After her cancer returned, it spread to her kidneys and bones, and she revealed in October 2008 that the disease was terminal.
She died in London on February 26, 2009, aged 65, with her husband John Burns by her side.
But more than 17 years later, Wendy Richard's legacy lives on.
Whether remembered as glamorous Miss Brahms or formidable Pauline Fowler, the Middlesbrough-born actress left a lasting mark on British television.