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Veteran entertainer Danny La Rue has died at home.
The 81-year-old was suffering from cancer and died in his sleep.
Known for his drag act, La Rue started out in Soho nightclubs before becoming a household name on television in the Sixties.
La Rue, whose real name was Daniel Carroll, stopped performing after a stroke in 2006. He came to be one of the most successful female impersonators.
He made a career out of his vaudeville drag act although he disliked being called a drag artist, preferring the term "comic in a frock".
Among those to have praised him throughout his 60-year career were Noel Coward who once described him as: "The most professional, the most witty... and the most utterly charming man in the business."
Bob Hope is also said to have called him: "The most glamorous woman in the world."
La Rue was born in Cork, Ireland, the youngest in a family of five.
Aged nine, he was brought to England where the family settled in London. He was evacuated to Devon in the Blitz and worked in a store in Exeter after leaving school aged 15.
The star worked in cabaret alongside Barbara Windsor when first starting out.
He opened his own nightclub in Hanover Square in 1964, attracting well over 13,000 members.
On the West End stage he triumphed in seven major shows including Come Spy With Me at the Whitehall Theatre, The Danny La Rue Show at the Prince of Wales theatre, and Aladdin at the London Palladium. He has undertaken 53 pantomimes at major venues all over the country.
His national tour with his Danny La Rue Show was a box office success and he was a particular hit in Australia.
La Rue was awarded an OBE for his work in charity and theatre.
Brian Shaw, who worked as La Rue's agent for more than 25 years, described him as "a true showbusiness legend".
