Dynasty and Doctor Who actress Kate O'Mara dies after short illness

Actress Kate O’Mara has died at a Sussex nursing home after suffering from a short illness. She was 74.

16:58 31 March 2014

Dynasty and Doctor Who actress Kate O’Mara has died after suffering from a short illness. She was 74.

O’Mara was best known for her role as the scheming Cassandra in the 80s American soap opera Dynasty.

She also appeared in other television shows including Howard’s Way, Triangle, and Doctor Who where he played the role of the evil Time Lady, The Rani, who forced the Doctor to regenerate from Colin Baker’s Time Lord into Sylvester McCoy’s seventh incarnation.

Following the sad news, several of her co-workers, friends and family have paid tribute to her via Twitter. Colin Baker tweeted: "Oh my goodness. Kate O'Mara is no longer with us. Sad sad news. A delightful, committed and talented lady and actress.  We are the poorer."

Just last October, O’Mara said: "I'm a much older woman and there's a huge population of older people who, if they're watching television, they can't watch Hollyoaks.

"If you put a much older woman in Doctor Who, they can identify with it. I think it's quite an interesting concept and if you remember things like Grimm's Fairytales, the older woman is often the villainess, often the terrifying figure - why I do not know, but often she is. I think it's an idea to be exploited."

She is survived by her sister, the actress Belinda Caroll.