British comedic star Anna Karen dies in London house fire at age 85

Actress Anna Karen the star of British series EastEnders and On The Buses died in a house fire at her home in Ilford, east London.

She was 85.

According to British media, the firefighters arrived at the scene after neighbours reported the fire at about 10.30pm on Tuesday (Feb 22).

It's said, the neighbours heard screams asking for help from inside the star’s home.

Karen was said to be wheelchair-bound, and lived on the ground floor of the three-bedroom terrace house.

The firefighters got the blaze under control in an hour but actress was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dailymail.co.uk quoted a neighbour: “I could hear someone screaming 'help me' and realised it was coming from Anna's house.

“Then I noticed smoke started coming out. We all know her around here, it's a very close-knit community and she was very popular. As more smoke came out the screams for help were getting more desperate, it was very frightening.”

Meanwhile Mirror.co.uk reported that a neighbour believed the fire may have started due to a lit cigarette.

The actress’ agent however told the publication: "We don’t know if it was an electrical fault or whether it was because she was smoking."

Karen played Olive Rudge, the downtrodden sister of Reg Varney’s bus driver Stan, in the popular British comedy On The Buses.

From 1996 to 2018, she played Peggy Mitchell’s sister, Aunt Sal, on EastEnders. Her character would appear whenever there was a family event.