Former Dynasty star Kate O'Mara has died at the age of 74, her agent said.
The British actress was best known for her role as sister to Joan Collins' Alexis Colby in the US soap.
She also had prominent roles in the '80s series Howards' Way and Triangle, and in Doctor Who.
Her agent said she died in a Sussex nursing home following a short illness.
He praised her "energy and vitality" and her "love for theatre and acting".
"A shining star has gone out and Kate will be dearly missed by all who knew and have worked with her," said agent Phil Belfield, who labelled the actress "extraordinary".
O'Mara's first television roles were in the 1960s, but she came to public attention playing the manipulative Cassandra "Caress" Morrell in Dynasty.
Co-star Joan Collins tweeted: "Tragic news about Kate O'Mara , we had great fun on Dynasty when she played my sister Caress... RIP."
O'Mara played a ruthless businesswoman in BBC drama Howards' Way and was briefly a regular on the North Sea ferry drama Triangle.
She also appeared in Doctor Who, opposite both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, as renegade Time Lord The Rani - a role she said she would love to return to.
"If you put a much older woman in Doctor Who, they can identify with it," she told Digital Spy ahead of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the show, where she tweeted images of herself with former co-stars.
"I think it's quite an interesting concept and if you remember things like Grimm's Fairytales, the older woman is often the villainess, often the terrifying figure - why I do not know, but often she is. I think it's an idea to be exploited."
Comments
RIP
I would imagine Len that your favourite character was Bill Riley?
There are a lot of connections between The Brothers and Howards Way, Glyn Owen who played Jack Rolfe in Howards Way was the original Edward Hammond until he was replaced by Patrick O'Connell. Apparently Owen was the ringleader in a move to get more pay for the cast from the BBC after the amazing success of the first series of The Brothers. In those days at the BBC, the tail was certainly not wagging the dog as is probably the case today.
Not sure who my favourite was. I had occasional impure thoughts regarding Gabrielle Drake (was her name Jill in the programme?) who was David's wife and often wondered how that drippy accountant Brian managed to pull Kate O'Mara.
RIP Kate