Shirley Anne Field, The Entertainer and Alfie star, dies aged 87

Her family confirmed the news in a statement, which read: "It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday 10th December 2023, surrounded by her family and friends.

"Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen."

Field's other major roles included Doreen in the New Wave film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. She also starred alongside Kenneth More in Man in the Moon in 1960.

Over the course of her career in the 1950s, the actress appeared in the likes of It's a Wonderful World, The Good Companions, The New Adventures of Martin Kane and The Silken Affair.

The actress previously noted she "owes it all" to Tony Richardson.

Speaking to Cinema Retro in 2009, Field recalled on a time she was auditioning for a role.

She explained: "As I was leaving, Tony [Richardson] shouted over [in a perfect impression of Richardson's accent], 'Can you do those lines in a northern accent?'

"I turned around immediately and said [in a northern accent], 'Bloody hell, I've spent four years learning to talk properly and now you're asking me to do this.'

"He looked up and said, 'Come back here,' and I said [again in a northern accent], 'Well, if you want me to, but I'm not keen on it, I'll have you know.' "It worked and he said, 'Could you come back to the theatre on Saturday?'"

In Field's later career, she appeared in Last of the Summer Wine, The Bill and Monarch of the Glen. Her more recent films are Beautiful Relics, The Power of Three and The Kid.