Angela Pleasence, Coronation Street star and daughter of James Bond icon, dies aged 84

Long-serving character actor Angela Pleasence – known for roles in Coronation Street, Doctor Who and Happy Valley – has died at the age of 84, her agent has announced.

Pleasence was the daughter of fellow actor Donald Pleasence, himself an icon of the screen from roles such as Dr Samuel Loomis in the Halloween franchise and the villainous Blofeld in James Bond flick You Only Live Twice.

His daughter followed in his footsteps, with an early screen role being Monica Sutton on the ITV soap Coronation Street, where she appeared in 1968. Soon after, she portrayed Catherine Howard in BAFTA-nominated TV play The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Pleasence went on to dabble in the horror genre, as her father had, landing the lead role in 1974 chiller Symptoms – with one fan on X describing her haunting turn as proof that she was "every bit as talented" as Donald.

The father-daughter duo would later share the screen together as Mr Grantly and Mrs Harding in BBC Two's The Barchester Chronicles, where they appeared alongside Alan Rickman.

In the decades that followed, Pleasence made regular appearances on our screens, taking roles in the BBC's Mansfield Park and 1984's A Christmas Carol (starring George C Scott), plus schedule staples Casualty, The Bill and Midsomer Murders.

In her later years, she contributed to the Doctor Who universe, portraying Queen Elizabeth I in Tenth Doctor episode The Shakespeare Code and taking an unrelated role as 'Mystic Mags' in spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Her final screen roles were fantasy comedy film Your Highness, police drama Whitechapel (season 4 only), plus acclaimed Sally Wainwright thriller Happy Valley, where she played Winnie – the next-door neighbour of Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire).

Her agent, Waring McKenna, announced the news of Pleasence's passing on their Instagram account, in a post that praised her ability to bring "remarkable depth and unease to complex, often enigmatic characters".

The tribute continued: "While never defined by any one genre, her contribution to the British industry remains a distinctive and much-admired part of her legacy. Our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time."