Anna Wing 1914 - 2013

The actress Anna Wing has died at the age of 98.

Anna Wing had a small but memorable part in the 1982 Doctor Who story Kinda, playing Anatta, a manifestation of the Mara who appeared to Tegan in a dream.

However, it was the creation of the character of Lou Beale, in the BBC soap EastEnders, for which she will be long remembered. She played the matriarch of the Fowler/Beale families from the show's first episode in 1985 until the character was killed off in 1988.

Wing had a long career before EastEnders, appearing in small character roles on television as long ago as 1938 and appearing in some of the most iconic dramas such as Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green and Anna Karenina.

She is survived by her two sons, including the actor Mark Wing-Davey, and five grandchildren. At the age of 98, she was believed to be the second longest-lived actress to have had a credited role in Doctor Who.