Actress Debbie Reynolds dies just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher

“The last thing she said this morning was that she was very, very sad about losing Carrie and that she would like to be with her again,” Fisher said. “Fifteen minutes later she suffered a severe stroke.”

"The only thing we’re taking solace in is that what she wanted to do was take care of her daughter, which is what she did best," he added.

Carrie Fisher suffered a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles before Christmas and passed away on 27th December. Reynolds had posted on her Facebook page in reaction to her daughter's death, thanking "everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter."

She added: "I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother."

The 84-year-old was a leading lady in a succession of major Hollywood films, beginning with Singin' in the Rain, and won an Oscar nomination for her role in 1964 musical Unsinkable Molly Brown.

She was married to actor Eddie Fisher with whom she had two children – Carrie and Todd – before the pair divorced in 1959 following Fisher's affair with her best friend Elizabeth Taylor.

In 2015, Reynolds received a lifetime achievement award at the Screen Actors Guild awards, a prize presented by her daughter Carrie.

Fisher's daughter and Reynolds' granddaughter, Billie Lourd, has today posted a picture of the trio attending last year's ceremony.