A POPULAR TV actress and dancer who traced her roots back to York, has died.

Actress Una Stubbs, known for her roles in TV shows like Worzel Gummidge, Till Death Us Do Part, Sherlock and EastEnders, has died at the age of 84.

Stubbs found fame in the 1960s, appearing in films like Sir Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday, and remained one of the UK's best-loved screen stars.

Her agent said she died at her home in Edinburgh surrounded by her family.

Back in 2013 the star discovered her York links while making Who Do You Think You Are?, which was screened last night.

Thanks to archivists in York, the then 76-year-old old discovered grandparents she never knew and a unsual link with the Rowntree factory.

Before she started on her quest, the actress said: “I have no idea about my past.

“What is so strange is that we knew nothing about my father’s family. He never introduced us to his parents. I don’t even know their names, that’s strange.

“We never met them, never saw, he never brought them...”

Archivists from York helped Una discover her family’s past in The Groves area of York.

They found her grandmother Annie once lived in the York workhouse and discovered that Una’s grandfather, Arthur, worked at the Rowntree factory 30 years before Una became the face of Rowntrees Dairy Box in the 1950s.

The programme followed Una as she discovered her grandmother, Annie Robinson, gave birth to an illegitimate son in the Huntington Road workhouse in 1903.

At the time she was using the name Annie Horsfall, after the family that had informally adopted her, as she too was born illegitimate.

On her mother’s side, Una, who lives in London, found that her great-grandfather was Sir Ebenezer Howard, who founded the new towns of Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City Filming for the show took place last November, using documents from more than 150 years ago, and the discoveries were kept secret until now.