COMEDY actress Mollie Sugden has died in hospital after a long illness, aged 86.

The Yorkshire-born star of popular sitcom Are You Being Served? died in the Royal Surrey County Hospital, in Guildford, yesterday.

Her twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside, according to her agent Joan Reddin.

Ms Reddin began representing Sugden in the 1960s before she became famous with her role as Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served?.

She said: “I represented her for more than 30 years and I was a very close friend as well.

“She had had a long illness and various problems but it was very quick in the end. Her twin boys were with her and she faded away.

“She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. She was a great professional.”

Sugden, who lived in Surrey, was married to fellow actor William Moore.

She never fully recovered from his death nine years ago, Ms Reddin said.

“They were very much in love,” she said. “She started to go down when he died.”

Best known for her comedy roles often playing battleaxes, Sugden also played the fearsome Mrs Hutchinson in The Liver Birds.