Actress Wendy Richard, who starred as matriarch Pauline Fowler in the British Broadcasting Corp.'s soap opera EastEnders and was in the sitcom Are You Being Served?, died early Thursday in London. She was 65.

Ms. Richard, who was in the soap for 21 years before leaving in 2006, had been battling breast cancer and died at the Harley Street Clinic with her husband, John Burns, by her side, her agent, Kevin Francis, said in a telephone interview.

"She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humor to the end," Francis said.

Ms. Richard, born Wendy Emerton in the northeastern English city of Middlesbrough, appeared in some of the best- known U.K. television comedy shows, including The Likely Lads, Dad's Army and On the Buses. She was also featured with Sid James in the Carry On films.

In the BBC's Are You Being Served?, which ran from 1973 to 1985, she played department-store sales assistant Shirley Brahms, a role that won her fans around the world.