JULIETTE Kaplan, who played battleaxe Pearl Sibshaw in Last Of The Summer Wine, has died aged 80 from cancer.

The actress, from Bournemouth, died on Thursday surrounded by family after returning home from a hospice two weeks ago, her agent confirmed.

She appeared in 226 episodes of the show between 1985 to 2010, entertaining the nation as she tried to thwart her serially unfaithful husband Howard from having affairs.

Kaplan also appeared in Coronation Street in 2015 as Agnes Tinker, the grandmother of long-standing character Beth.

In a statement on Twitter, her agent Barry Langford said: "Juliette Kaplan, "Our Pearl", has finally succumbed to the cancer she has bravely battled for so long.

"Thank you everyone who sent their love and support to this fearless and supremely gifted actress. As she said, "Ta-ta and it's been fun"."

Mr Langford previously said on July 31 that Kaplan was "gravely ill".

Across a lengthy career, she also appeared in Doctors, Brookside, EastEnders and London's Burning.

She leaves behind two daughters and a son.