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Sylvia Anderson, voice of Thunderbirds’ Lady Penelope, dies at 88

Sylvia, who also co-created the puppet series, passed away at her Buckinghamshire home following a short illness, her family confirmed.

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Sylvia provided the aristocratic voice of the Lady Penelope character, which was also based on her own appearance.

Speaking last September, Mrs Anderson said she had had “fun” playing a great aunt to her original character, voiced by Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike, in ITV reboot Thunderbirds Are Go.

Nick Williams, Chairman of Fanderson – a fan club dedicated to the work of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – told BBC Breakfast she was a “huge influence” on the entertainment industry.

Ms Anderson was born in London and graduated with a Degree in Sociology and Political Science at the London School of Economics.

Her husband, Gerry, sadly passed away aged 83 in 2012 after being diagnosed with dementia.

On her return to the United Kingdom she joined a TV production company, where she met her future husband. Anderson additionally looked after character development and costume design.

The success of the series led to two feature films and a toy and merchandise empire.

“If we had made it ourselves (and we have had over 30 years to do it!) we could not have improved on this new version”.

After their divorce in 1981, the couple went their separate ways – and Sylvia went on to become the head of programming for HBO, not to mention writing several books.

Sylvia and her daughter were working on a TV show called The Last Station before her death, as well as a charity ball for Breast Cancer Care, which will now go ahead in May in her memory.

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She is survived by her daughter, who is a singer-songwriter, son Gerry Anderson Junior, an anaesthetist, four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Sylvia Anderson, voice of Thunderbirds' Lady Penelope, has died