Hi-de-Hi! actor Jeffrey Holland leads tributes to co-star Ruth Madoc as she dies aged 79: Actress who played Gladys Pugh in the 1980s sitcom passes away following fall

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Jeffrey Holland, who starred as Spike Dixon in Hi-de-Hi!, has remembered Ruth Madoc for the fun and laughter they shared on set following her death aged 79.

Madoc became a household name playing chief yellowcoat Gladys Pugh in the BBC One sitcom about a holiday camp set in the late 1950s. 

Her career also spanned an array of roles in theatre and musicals, from Fiddler On The Roof to Gypsy.

She died on Friday afternoon while in hospital following surgery for a fall this week, which had forced her to withdraw from starring in Aladdin the pantomime at the Princess Theatre in Torquay, her agent said.  

Jeffrey Holland (right), who starred as Spike Dixon in Hi-de-Hi!, has remembered Ruth Madoc (left) for the fun and laughter they shared on set following her death aged 79 

Actor Holland, 82, spoke of Madoc's many talents during an interview with BBC News today.

He said: 'We were together for a long time, not just in Hi-de-Hi! the TV series but we did the stage show, the summer seasons with it and I did several pantomimes with Ruth as well over the years back in the 1980s so we've got a lot of happy memories to draw on and she was a wonderful performer and she'll be greatly missed.

'She was a very talented musical performer with a wonderful singing voice, she has a history that goes back a long way. It was a joy to work with someone like that, we had such laughs.

'I was very lucky to work with that comedy crew, we never stopped laughing from morning until night. I will have those memories of Ruth forever, she left us a wonderful legacy with Gladys Pugh.

'I was very lucky to do a job like that. We had such a laugh together, it really was such fun.'

Talking about why Madoc's character in Hi-de-Hi! was so well-loved, he added: 'It was the frustration of the character, she drew on her own ancestry and dragged that wonderful voice up from exaggerated Welsh valleys voice - they called her the vamp from the valleys

'She played a lot of people that she knew, she used a lot of people that she had grown up with as a role model for the voice of the characterisation of Gladys.

'It's such a tragedy but there you go.'   

Madoc, whose husband was actor Philip Madoc, passed away yesterday following a fall which forced her to pull out of performing in pantomime Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay - a commitment which she would have started yesterday and finished on New Year's Eve.

Ruth Madoc played Gladys Pugh in Hi-de-Hi! from 1980 to 1988

Hi-de-Hi! actress Ruth Madoc has died aged 79, her agent has confirmed in a statement 

Taking to Instagram on Friday, she wrote: 'Hiya everyone please don't worry!'

Just hours earlier, she told fans she was on the mend, saying: 'Please don't worry! I'm well and I'll soon be back to normal, but unfortunately @princesstheatretorquay won't get to have The Empress Gladys in the Panto this Christmas!!! I'm doing really well and will soon be back to normal!'

In a statement, Phil Belfield of talent agency Belfield & Ward Ltd, described Madoc as 'one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many'.

He said: 'It is with much sadness that we have to announce the death of our dear and much loved client Ruth Madoc.

'Ruth passed away on the afternoon of Friday 9th December while in hospital following surgery for a fall she had earlier in the week, which had led her to have to withdraw from panto in Torquay.

'From film work such as Fiddler On The Roof and Under Milk Wood with Richard Burton and her iconic TV performance as Gladys Pugh in Hi De Hi! and more recently in Little Britain and on stage with Calendar Girls (the play and the musical), plus recent acclaim in short films Skinny Fat and Cardiff, she was truly a national treasure and was looking forward to getting back on the road in 2023 with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

'A real legend of the British entertainment scene, she was one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many. 

Click here to read more about Hi-de-Hi! 

 

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'She is gone far too soon. Our hearts are broken!

'Thoughts are with her daughter Lowri, her son Rhys and all of her family.'

Posting a statement on Twitter, the theatre company said on Thursday: 'Following an accident earlier this week, after medical assessment, regretfully Ruth Madoc is no longer able to appear in this year's pantomime of Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay.' 

Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth has remembered 'wonderfully gifted actress' Madoc following news of her death.

The former MP, who is now a writer and reporter on BBC's The One Show, said on Twitter: 'This is such sad news. Ruth was a very lovely person - and a wonderfully gifted actress.

'I was lucky enough to get to know her through my best friend from school, Simon Cadell. In Hi-De-Hi they were irresistible. RIP Ruth Madoc & thanks for the memories. Goodbye campers!'

Cadell played holiday camp boss Jeffrey Fairbrother, the object of affections for Madoc's character Glady Pugh.

Madoc passed away yesterday following a fall which forced her to pull out of performing in pantomime Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay - a commitment which she would have started yesterday and finished on New Year's Eve

British actress and singer Ruth Madoc

Ruth Madoc and Simon Cadell during filming of the BBC sitcom in the early 1980s

Ruth Madoc with her husband Philip and their children in 1980

Ruth Madoc and David Griffin. Madoc has died after falling this week

Tributes to Ruth Madoc, who died on Friday aged 79

Former Family Fortunes presenter Les Dennis and actor Joe McGann also paid tribute to the actress on Twitter.

Dennis said: 'So very sad to hear that lovely Ruth Madoc has passed away. She was such a talented and lovely woman. Thoughts with her family.'

And McGann wrote: 'Such sad news about the amazing Ruth Madoc. I was lucky enough to work with her more than once and I loved the bright, skillful, funny, fearless, kind, and inspiring ball of light that she always was.'

Comedian Paul Chuckle tweeted: 'Just heard the very sad news RIP to the lovely Ruth Madoc. I've worked with her several times, including an episode @BBCDoctors ... she will be greatly missed.'

Actor and writer Sir Tony Robinson, 76, tweeted: 'So sad to hear my lovely friend Ruth Madoc has passed.

'She was not only funny and highly intelligent, she was smart, kindly, a loyal trade unionist, and wore her heart on the left. She'll be much missed.'

Ruth Madoc with her son Rhys. The actress died after falling this week

Su Pollard and Ruth Madoc at The Royal Variety Performance in 1986

Born in April 1943 and brought up in Llansamlet near Swansea, Madoc trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) before her break-out role playing Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical Fiddler On The Roof in 1971

In 2018, Madoc overcame her fears to reveal her breasts to a live audience in the ladies' version of The Real Full Monty alongside stars including Coleen Nolan, Victoria Derbyshire and Michelle Heaton.

They performed a dance to The Greatest Showman's This Is Me to raise awareness about breast cancer.

A year later, she broke her hip in a fall while rehearsing for her role in Calendar Girls, but confounded doctors with her speedy recovery. 

Born in April 1943 and brought up in Llansamlet near Swansea, Madoc trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) before her break-out role playing Fruma Sarah in the film version of the musical Fiddler On The Roof in 1971.

A decade later she appeared on our screens in fan-favourite sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, having had other roles including Mrs Dai Bread Two in 1972 comedy film Under Milk Wood.

She is survived by her two children.