Tributes have been paid to Hadyn Gwynne whose death has been announced by her agent. She was 66 and had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Gwynne was most recently known to comedy fans for playing Camilla in Channel 4's royal spoof The Windsors. But early in her wide-ranging career she firmly established her comedy credentials as the no-nonsense, hard-nosed Alex Pates in C4's newsroom satire, Drop the Dead Donkey from 1990.

She also appeared in Sky's Urban Myths series in an episode about Joan Collins. Ironically Gwynne's version of Queen Camilla in the Windsors seemed to owe something to Joan Collins' performance in glamour-soaked series Dynasty.

Her agent confirmed the news in a statement: "It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends. We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks."

Gwynne played Margaret Thatcher opposite Dame Helen Mirren onstage in The Audience. Mirren wrote on Instagram: "Haydn was a delight as a person and a consummate dedicated actress. She was both funny and serious at the same time, a brilliant balancing act that her whole career exemplified. We will miss her very much."

Writer Jonathan Harvey wrote: "a gifted and versatile all rounder".

Actor Samuel West tweeted: "This is a terrible loss. One of the nicest and one of the best."

Actor Mike Fenton Stevens tweeted: "I knew and worked with the wonderful Haydn Gwynne over the years since the 80’s. I consider myself very lucky. She was a gorgeous, talented actor and person. My sympathy to her family."

Picture from The Windsors/C4