Dame Thora stroke shock

Mar 11 2003 By Neil Atkinson, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

DAME Thora Hird, one of Britain's best-loved actresses, has suffered a stroke, it was announced today.

Relatives and friends of the Last Of The Summer Wine star are anxiously awaiting medical tests to see the extent of her condition.

Dame Thora, 91, is known to millions for a string of roles on stage, TV and radio as a plain-speaking chatterbox.

But her best-known role in recent years has been as Edie, one of the female battleaxes in Last Of The Summer Wine, the world's longest-running comedy TV series filmed mainly in the Holme Valley. She joined the show 20 years ago.

Dame Thora became ill over the weekend at the retirement home where she lives in south-west London.

Her agent said today: "We can confirm that Thora did have a stroke at the weekend.

"She is currently being treated in a private nursing home and we are awaiting medical reports."

Summer Wine producer Alan J W Bell visited Dame Thora in the nursing home at the weekend and said she had been sitting up.

He said: "She was eating breakfast and was pleased to see me.

"She has, of course, been in semi-retirement for some time but she did quite a lot of filming for the last series, albeit all in the studios in London rather than on location in Yorkshire.