Jean Marsh, star of Upstairs, Downstairs, has died aged 90, a friend has confirmed.

Marsh’s friend, director Sir Michael Lindsay-Hogg, said in a statement to the PA news agency that the actress “died peacefully in bed looked after by one of her very loving carers”.

“You could say we were very close for 60 years,” he added. “She was as wise and funny as anyone I ever met, as well as being very pretty and kind, and talented as both an actress and writer.

“An instinctively…