Who was Anna Karen in ‘EastEnders’? Tributes pour in as actress dies in house fire incident

British actress Anna Karen died in a horrific house fire incident at her east London home on Tuesday, February 22. She was 85 at the time of her passing. The news of her death was confirmed by her agent Shane Collins to the BBC:

"She was a great actress, a great comedian and a great soul."

Karen was best known for playing the role of Aunt Sal in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and Olive in the British sitcom On the Buses.

Reports suggest neighbors came to know about the incident after the actress who used a wheelchair started screaming for help. Firefighters rushed to the scene in Windsor Road, Ilford, at around 10.30 pm at night, but Karen was already dead by the time the fire was brought under control.

The London Fire Brigade confirmed that the actress died due to the fire, but the Metropolitan Police ruled out suspicions of foul play. However, the case continues to remain under investigation.

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A look into Anna Karen’s character in ‘EastEnders’

Anna Karen was associated with EastEnders for nearly two decades, playing the recurring role of Aunt Sal between 1996 and 2017. Her character, Sal Martin, was the daughter of Lilian and Jack, the elder sister of Peggy Mitchell, and the aunt of Phil, Grant, and Sam.

The character first appeared onscreen in 1996 at her sister Peggy’s 54th birthday party. Sal was married to Harold and mentioned having a son and daughter on the show. Her presence was mostly highlighted in important events like weddings, birthdays, and funerals.

Sal was shown to be a heavy smoker and was mentioned to be running a pub. She spent Christmas 1997 with the Mitchell family and also supported her sister Peggy during her fight with cancer.

The character was seen attending Grant and Tiffany Mitchell's wedding blessing ceremony in 1997, Peggy and Harry Slater's engagement party in 2001, Louise Mitchell's naming party in 2002, Jamie Mitchell's funeral in 2003, and Sam Mitchell and Andy Hunter’s wedding in 2004.

Aunt Sal returned to the show for her nephew Phil Mitchell's wedding to Stella Crawford in 2007 and continued to appear on episodes showing engagement parties, weddings, dinner parties, and Christmas episodes, among others.

In 2016, Sal was seen at her sister Peggy’s funeral after she died by suicide. Towards the end of Anna Karen’s final appearance on EastEnders, Sal was seen attending Ronnie and Roxy's funerals.

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Twitter mourns the loss of Anna Karen

Netizens took to Twitter to mourn the loss of actress Anna Karen (Image via Dressers/Facebook)

Anna Karen won millions of hearts across the globe with her portrayal of Aunt Sal in EastEnders. She is also remembered for playing Olive in On the Buses and The Rag Trade, as well as for her roles in Carry on Camping, Carry on Loving, …And Mother Makes Five, and Beautiful Thing.

Following the news of Karen’s tragic demise, several colleagues, well-wishers, and fans took to Twitter to pour in their heartfelt tributes to the late actress:

Anna Karen was married to her On the Buses co-star comedian Terry Duggan from 1967 until his death in 2008. She reportedly had no children of her own but helped raise Gloria, Duggan’s daughter, from his previous marriage.

The actress was last seen in public in January 2021 at her close friend and EastEnders co-star Barbara Windsor’s funeral. She was reportedly alone at the time of her death.