Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actress Georgina Hale has died aged 80.

BAFTA led tributes to the star who had a film, TV and theatre career spanning five decades.

“We’re saddened to learn of the passing of Georgina Hale,” BAFTA said in a post on X.

“Well known for her award-winning work in the films of Ken Russell, she was awarded Most Promising Newcomer To Leading Film Roles in 1975.”

The cause of death is yet to be confirmed. It is believed she died on 4 January.

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Filmmaker Jude Rawlins wrote on X: “I am heartbroken that we have lost the magnificent Georgina Hale. She was the greatest and I once told her so on a bus in Swiss Cottage. I wrote a part in my next film for her. No idea who else could do it.”

Fans hailed her “unmistakable voice” and described her as “fabulous in everything”.

Hale – who was born in Ilford, Essex – was best known for her roles in Ken Russell films during the 1970s.

This included the 1974 film Mahler, based on the life of composer Gustav Mahler, in which Hale portrayed Alma, his musically ambitious wife, for which she won the BAFTA award.

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She trained at RADA and began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1965, going on to win roles in the West End.

Alongside her film and stage career, she also appeared in several TV soaps.

She played Beryl Chugspoke in Emmerdale in 2006 and Blanche Longford in Hollyoaks in 2010-11.

Hale also appeared in The Bill, Casualty and Holby City – and in Doctor Who in 1988 opposite Sylvester McCoy.

She also portrayed the tea-drinking sorceress T-Bag in the beloved children’s series.

“As T-Bag she was a magical and wonderful part of my and many other’s childhoods,” wrote one fan on social media.

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