Comedian and producer Chris Neill pays tribute to the comic actress, taking a look at her life and work with extracts from the BBC archive.

Born in Liverpool, Betty Marsden came to comedy after years as a stage actress. Her big break came in 1938 when she was an understudy in a West End play and was called up to replace the leading actress who had fallen ill.

She regularly entertained the troops during World War II, but she was best known for her distinctive vocal range played out in her roles in Beyond Our Ken, Round The Horne and appearances in two Carry On films.