Hi-De-Hi's Diane Holland dies aged 78

Hi-De-Hi! actress Diane Holland, who played snooty ballroom dancer Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves, has died aged 78, her publicists confirmed. Diane passed away on January 24 after suffering from bronchial pneumonia. A statement from her agency, Mahoney Bannon Associates, said: "Diane had a wonderful dry sense of humour and she was loved and respected by everyone who came into contact with her. "She had a long and distinguished career - she will be best known for her fabulous character, the snooty ballroom dancer, Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves, in the BBC series Hi-De-Hi! - and she also appeared in the Are You Being Served spin-off Grace and Favour." As well as a natural gift for comedy, Diane, from Godstone, Surrey, had a talent for serious roles, appearing in Casualty, Bergerac and Poldark. Diane's agent Bo Keller said: "She had such a dry sense of humour. She was nothing like Yvonne Stuart-Hargreaves. She just was very funny, very dry, always a caustic remark to make if necessary." A private funeral will be held for Holland on February 28, the day of her birthday. A public memorial service will take place in the spring. Get exclusive access to your favourite stars. Subscribe to TV Times magazine

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.