The Yorkshire-born star died in the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford on Wednesday afternoon.

Her twin sons, Robin and Simon Moore, were at her bedside, according to her agent Joan Reddin.

She was one of Britain's top television sitcom actresses, renowned for her portrayal of fearsome battleaxes.

Among her best-known roles were the overbearing Mrs Slocombe in Are You Being Served? and Mrs Hutchinson in The Liver Birds.

Her portrayal of overpowering and snooty women made her a household name, not least for her talent of bringing a humorous warmth to the most tyrannical of roles.

Ms Reddin, who began working with Sugden in the 1960s, said: "She had had a long illness and various problems but it was very quick in the end.

"I represented her for more than 30 years and I was a very close friend as well.

"She was a lovely, lovely person and I never had any trouble with her. She was a great professional."

Sugden, who lived in Surrey, was married to fellow actor William Moore.

She never fully recovered from his death nine years ago, Ms Reddin said.

"They were very much in love," she said. "She started to go down when he died."

Born in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in July 1922, Sugden trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Her early career was spent in repertory theatre, where in Swansea in 1956 she met Moore.

They married two years later, when she was 35 and he was 39. Their sons were born six years later.

Frank Thornton, who played Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served? paid tribute to Sugden.

He said: "Mollie, of course, was an excellent comedian. If you can play comedy, you can play anything - you can play tragedy as well.

"And if you can only play tragedy, you can't play comedy.

"She was a jolly good actress."