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Former EastEnders star dies aged 104

News imageBBC Three women and a man stood in a row smiling looking ahead. They are wearing jackets with coloured tinsel round their necks. They are stood outside and in the background is a tree with coloured lights on. BBC
Elizabeth Kelly (far right) played Nellie Ellis in EastEnders from 1993 to 2000

A former soap star whose career in television spanned 40 years has died at the age of 104, it has been announced.

Elizabeth Kelly, best known for playing busybody Nellie Ellis in EastEnders, died peacefully in Scarborough on 31 December, her agent Scott Marshall Partners said.

Her agent added: "Elizabeth enjoyed an illustrious career spanning many decades but is probably best known as Auntie Nellie in EastEnders."

Paying tribute, a statement from the BBC soap said: "Those that worked with Elizabeth at EastEnders will remember her fondly for her warmth and kindness, and our love and thoughts are with Elizabeth's family and friends."

Born in Newcastle, she began her acting career in the late 1960s and played Edie Burgess in the ITV soap Coronation Street in 1971.

She went on to portray various roles in several drama series, including The Bill and Where the Heart Is.

In 1993, Kelly joined the cast of EastEnders as Nellie Ellis - the sharp-tongued relative of Pauline Fowler.

She played the role until 1998 before returning for her final appearance in 2000 for the funeral of Ethel Skinner.

The EastEnders statement added: "Elizabeth Kelly created a wonderful character in Nellie Ellis, and it is with great sadness that we learn of her passing."

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