Maya Woolfe: Doctor Who and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet actress dies aged 72

A statement put out by the social media accounts of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - the hit drama from the mid 1980s which followed a group of construction workers from the north east looking for work - relayed the news.

It read: “With sadness we announce the passing of Maya Woolfe who played Uli in Auf Wiedersehen Pet Series 1, Episode 11, The Lovers. Maya’s many TV appearances included The Professionals, Bergerac, and Doctor Who. We send our deepest sympathy to family and friends at this difficult time.”

That episode saw Woolfe play Uli, a German woman with whom Oz - played by Jimmy Nail - falls in love. Oz tells her he has his own construction business to impress her, and she tells him that she is a beauty consultant, but actually works at a massage parlour for her Turkish boyfriend, as Bomber discovers.

Fans have expressed their sadness. One wrote: “So sad, another one bites the dust, memories of times gone by when TV shows were worth watching, and AWP was up there with the best.”

And other said: “Sad news. One of the best ever episodes.“