Shirley Anne Field: Alfie actress dies aged 87

Actress Shirley Anne Field has died aged 87, her family has said.

She starred in films such as Alfie, opposite Sir Michael Caine, and Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – alongside Albert Finney.

Field also appeared in a huge number of popular TV series including The Bill, Doctors, Murder She Wrote, Last of the Summer Wine and Upstairs, Downstairs.

A statement from her family said she would be “greatly missed”.

“It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news that Shirley Anne Field passed away peacefully on Sunday… surrounded by her family and friends,” the family said.

“Shirley Anne will be greatly missed and remembered for her unbreakable spirit and her amazing legacy spanning more than five decades on stage and screen.”

Born in Forest Gate, Newham, in 1936, Field first established herself as a model in the 1950s.

She later moved into acting, featuring in the 1956 comedy Loser Takes All and musical film It’s A Wonderful World.

Field’s breakthrough came in the 1960s following her role as Tina Lapford in The Entertainer opposite the late Laurence Olivier.

She went on to star in a string of films, television series and stage productions.

Among her other hit films were 1962’s The War Lover alongside the late Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner and 1985’s rom-com My Beautiful Laundrette with Daniel Day-Lewis.