Subject: Actress Janet Brown dies aged 87

Actress and comic Janet Brown, who was best known for impersonating former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has died aged 87.

Her agent said she died in her sleep at a nursing home in Hove, East Sussex, after a short illness.

In a career beginning in the 1930s, she gained national TV fame in the 1970s and 1980s for her impersonations on The Mike Yarwood Show.

She also played Lady Thatcher in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

Over the years, the star who was born in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, worked with a number of stars including Hughie Green, Tony Hancock and George Cole.

In 1987 she wrote her autobiography, Prime Mimicker, chronicling her childhood and career as impressionist.

More recently she appeared in dramas including Midsomer Murders, Casualty and Hotel Babylon.

Her final stage role was in a production of The Country Wife at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2007.

"She was a delightful client and we will all miss her very much," said agent Susan Angel.

"Her knowledge of sport was second to none. We will miss the endless discussions about football and her fellow Scot, the tennis star Andy Murray."

The actress, who was married to Carry On actor Peter Butterworth until his death in 1979, is survived by a son, the actor Tyler Butterworth, and a grandson.