ANNA KAREN, who perished in a house fire at her residence, is said to have given her former EastEnders co-star Sophie Lawrence the most of her fortune.
Anna Karen, a star of On The Buses, perished in a house fire at her residence in February at the age of 85. According to reports, the actress who portrayed Aunt Sal in EastEnders has left Sophie Lawrence the majority of her wealth.
From 1988 through 1991, Sophie, 50, played Diane Butcher and was a regular in the BBC soap opera.
Between 1996 and 2017, the late actress, whose true name was Ann Duggan, also starred in EastEnders as Aunt Sal, the sister of Peggy Mitchell, who was portrayed by Barbara Windsor.
She played the aunt of Grant and Phil Mitchell, and she frequently showed up at gatherings for the family.
Anna was also well-known for playing Olive in the On The Buses comedy from the 1970s.
According to probate paperwork obtained by MailOnline, Anna left her former co-star £427,197 and specified that she would get 65% of the late soap star’s assets.
In her testament, Anna bequeathed Gloria Gill, the stepdaughter of her late actor husband Terry Duggan, a further fifth of her assets. Terry Duggan passed away in 2008.
Four further friends or family members received an additional eighth, and the final 2.5% was given to the Actors’ Benevolent Fund.
According to accounts, Anna perished in a house fire earlier this year that was caused by smoking.
Her relatives stated to the same outlet after her passing: “We are terribly horrified at the news of Anna.”
A statement issued at the time contained a confirmation of the fatality from a London Fire Brigade official.
“Unfortunately, a woman has died after a house fire on Windsor Road in Ilford,” it said.
They further said “Fire damaged a portion of a mid-terrace house’s ground level. Sadly, a woman was declared dead right away. The fire was put out by 2338 after the Brigade was called at 2240. Around 20 firemen from Barking and Ilford fire stations attended the incident along with three fire engines. The fire’s origin is being looked into.”
It was claimed that after she passed out while smoking, her neighbors thought the blaze was started by a cigarette.
The iconic 1960s and 1970s sitcom On The Buses, which aired from 1960 to 1973, had only one surviving cast member when it concluded in 1973: Anna.
All 74 episodes of the popular sitcom included Olive, who was portrayed by the actress.
She also starred in Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses, the two sequels to On The Buses, the top grossing movie of 1971.
She wasn’t famous only for that part, though.
She also starred in the sitcoms Carry On Camping and Carry On Loving, and in The Rag Trade, a TV sitcom about a workplace, in 1977 and 1978, she played Olive.
South African-born Anna used her striptease performances to pay for her way through acting school.
Additionally, she once went on tour with Sophie, her co-star in the comedy Bazaar & Rummage, which was adapted from a Sue Townsend book.
