Sitcom Legend Ruth Madoc Dies After Fall

Ruth Madoc, the beloved sitcom actress best known for her roles in Hi-de-Hi! and Fiddler on the Roof, has died. Madoc passed away on Friday, Dec. 9 after undergoing surgery for injuries she sustained in a fall earlier in the week, Phil Belfield, of the Belfield & Ward talent agency, confirmed. She was 79.

Although details of the incident are unclear, it was confirmed Thursday that the actress was forced to withdraw from her performance in the pantomime Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay, Devon. At the time, a statement shared by the theatre and to Madoc’s Instagram account informed fans, “Following an accident earlier this week, after medical assessment, regretfully Ruth Madoc is no longer able to appear in this year’s pantomime of Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay.” In the post, Madoc asked fans, “please don’t worry ! I’m well and I’ll soon be back to normal.” However, according to Belfield, per a statement shared with the BBC, Madoc passed away “while in hospital following surgery for a fall she had earlier in the week.”

Born in April 1943, Madoc grew up in Llansamlet near Swansea and got her start in the entertainment industry when she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada). She scared her break-out role playing Fruma Sarah in the 1971 film adaptation of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. She went on to star in various roles in theater and musicals, with her more recent credits including her role as Daffyd Thomas’s mother in Little Britain and a role in Calendar Girls. However, she was perhaps best known as Gladys Pugh, chief yellowcoat and Radio Maplin announcer in BBC’s Hi-de-Hi!, the show on which she notably greeted Maplins holiday camp guests with, “Hello, campers. Hi-de-hi!” The series ran for nine seasons from 1981 to 1988.

Reflecting on her career, Belfield remembered Madoc as “one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many,” adding that she “was truly a national treasure and was looking forward to getting back on the road in 2023 with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. A real legend of the British entertainment scene, she was one of a kind and a unique talent loved by many. She is gone far too soon. Our hearts are broken! Thoughts are with her daughter Lowri, her son Rhys and all of her family.” Madoc is survived by her two children.