ITV icon Sheila Mathews dies aged 99 as tributes paid to ‘Britain’s longest serving performer’ and Friday’s Girl star

ShowbizCelebrity ITV legend Sheila Mathews has died aged 99. Devastated fans took to social media to pay tribute to Friday’s Girl star Sheila, who was dubbed Britain’s “longest serving performer”. ITV legend Sheila Mathews has died aged 99 Credit: Alamy Heartbroken fans took to social media to pay touching tributes to the TV star Credit: Facebook The TV icon was in attendance for the launch of ITV more than seven decades ago. She went on to play a starring role in Friday’s Girl, which topped television ratings and raked in some 12 millions viewers. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! Sheila, who started performing from the age of three, later appeared in popular ITV soaps Crossroads and Emmerdale. The sad news of Sheila’s passing was announced by Intermission magazine this week. Sheila married Charles Reading in 1957 Credit: PA:Press Association Sheila appeared in popular ITV soaps Crossroads and Emmerdale Credit: Facebook A tribute read: “We received the sad news that the multi-talented Sheila Mathews, whose career in the golden days of British entertainment was vast and varied, has died aged 99. “Neil Clark met Britain’s longest serving performer for our Intermission magazine and we present this in tribute to her remarkable life and career. “Thank you for the memories Sheila. RIP.” Sheila initially began her performing career as a singer and theatre performer, before entering into TV. Most read in Showbiz Her first West End appearance came alongside comedian – and then dance partner – Eric Morecambe in Strike A New Note in 1943. She married director Charles Reading in 1957 – and the pair went on to have two children, Sally and Jane, together. Mr Reading, who passed away in 1999 at the age of 88, met his wife during their time at Associated-Rediffusion. Tributes have flooded in for “Britain’s longest serving performer” from heartbroken fans on social media. One fan penned: “Sheila played my mother in the musical The History of Mr Polly at the Churchill Theatre Bromley in 1977. “I often gave her a lift home to where she was living at the time in a house on the slope to Muswell Hill as I lived in Tottenham. “I always remember how welcoming it looked with a lamp left on in the lounge. “She was excellent in the show and a lovely lady and we used to have great chats on the way home.” Another wrote: “What a wonderful, beautiful, kind lady. “One in a million. Heaven is lucky to have you.” Comment now