Fenella Fielding - a life in pictures

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Actor Fenella Fielding has died at the age of 90 after suffering a stroke two weeks ago.

One of her most famous roles was in Carry on Screaming! as Valeria, the mistress of an eerie house.

“It’s a great performance from Fielding but it’s a shame that it’s this for which she will be best remembered,” says The Daily Telegraph.

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“She was, first and foremost, a stage actress who came to prominence in the Fifties when she appeared in Sandy Wilson’s musical version of Valmouth and forged a varied theatrical career.”

Literary classics were important to her, notes the newspaper, adding: “She kept a copy of Plato’s Republic by her bedside and once turned down an offer from [Federico] Fellini in order to appear at Chichester.”

Fielding spoke about the dangers of being typecast on screen, telling The Independent in 2008: “You get set on a path and, if you succeed, you get better parts, but of the same kind. If you don’t take a lot of trouble, you get stuck like that.

“I’ve managed to get away from that, time and time again. But people still think of me in a certain way because of the Carry On films.”

Born in London in 1927 to a Lithuanian father and a Romanian mother, Fenella Marion Feldman was the younger sister of Basil Feldman, a former Conservative member of the House of Lords.

Confirming her death yesterday, a spokesperson for the actor said: “We are very sad to announce that Fenella Fielding OBE passed away this afternoon, on Tuesday 11 September.

“This follows a severe stroke two weeks ago. During that time, she has been very comfortable and always looked tranquil and divine. And always wearing her eyelashes.

“Miss Fielding was an incredible talent. That voice! A unique woman, much loved by family, friends and fans. She will be missed tremendously.”

Click on the gallery above for more images of Fielding throughout her career.