SHE was the sexy star who could do any accent, dance, sing and play dowdy or glam.
Best known for her roles in Carry On films, Joan Sims who died yesterday aged 71, also starred in TV sitcoms.
Former co-star Barbara Windsor said last night: "She was a sweet, lovely woman who was an incredibly talented actress.
"To me she was the last of the great Carry Ons. This is terrible news. We laughed all the time and giggled a lot. I will sorely miss her."
Her agent Richard Hatton added: "She really did have all the qualities her many fans would have wished.
"A great sense of humour, a sympathetic and endearing personality, terrific talents and consideration for others.
"Everyone who knew her will remember her forever."
Joan, who died in London's Chelsea and Westminster hospital after a long illness, excelled in roles such as Lady Ruff-Diamond in Carry On Up The Khyber and Emily Bung in Carry On Screaming.
She was the longest-serving female actress on the series, starring in 24 films alongside Kenneth Williams and Sid James, among others.
A cameo role in Doctor In The House as sexually repressed Nurse Rigor Mortis led to her being noticed by Carry On writer Peter Rogers.
She made her debut in Carry On Nurse in 1958.
After parting company with the team in 1978, Joan continued to work in TV starring in comedies On The Up and As Time Goes By with Frank Middlemass.
She also appeared in the BBC's Martin Chuzzlewit.
Her last major role was in BBC series The Last of the Blonde Bombshells with Dame Judi Dench, June Whitfield, Billie Whitelaw and Cleo Laine.
The daughter of an Essex railwayman, Joan was born on May 9 1930.
She made her West End debut in the revue Intimacy At 8.30, at the Irving Theatre. After four attempts, she got into RADA and graduated in 1950 when she was taken on by theatrical agent Peter Eade.
Intensely private, Joan never married - although co-star Kenneth Williams once proposed to her. She lived alone in a Kensington flat and was devastated when her mother, Peter and Carry On co-star Hattie Jacques died within a few years.
Joan fought alcoholism and admitted she found it hard to be herself. In her autobiography High Spirits she said: "More than anything, enthusiasm from an audience satisfied my need to feel wanted.
"In front of a camera I've got all the confidence in the world, but switch it off and I sink back into my timid self."
This article appeared on the Mirror (UK) web site on June 28, 2001.