British actress Wendy Richard died 26 February 2009 of a recurrence of breast cancer. Born Wendy Emerton on 20 July 1943 in Middlesbrough, England, she was best known for her roles on two British soap operas: Are You Being Served? (in which she played Miss Shirley Brahms from 1972 to 1985) and EastEnders (she was Pauline Fowler in more than 1,400 episodes, from 1985 to 2006).
She also had many film appearances, and a few genre roles, including appearing in Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time (1993) and No Blade of Grass (1970). She also played Lady Macbeth in the Beatles’ 1965 film Help!, but her scenes were deleted before release.
She is survived by her fourth husband, John Burns, whom she married in October.