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Tributes were paid yesterday to actor Anna Karen, star of On the Buses and later EastEnders, who has died in a house fire at the age of 85. She was the last surviving cast member from the 1970s sitcom, in which she played Olive Rudge, the downtrodden sister of Reg Varney’s bus driver Stan.
She also appeared in some of the Carry On films, becoming a close friend of the late Barbara Windsor, and then in EastEnders until 2017 as Aunt Sal. The Metropolitan Police said the circumstances of the fire, in Ilford, east London, do not appear to be suspicious.
Karen’s agent Shane Collins said: “It is a terrible tragedy. I loved Anna. I’ve known her since I was a kid and she’s been the most...