By Huw Thomas
The Welsh actress Iola Gregory has died aged 71 after a short illness.
She was best known for playing pub landlady Jean McGurk in the long-running Welsh language soap opera Pobol y Cwm in the late 1980s and 1990s.
"She will be part of the Pobol y Cwm family forever," said series producer Llyr Morus.
Other performances in a long career in Welsh and English, on stage and screen, included the BBC Wales series The District Nurse alongside Nerys Hughes.
Gregory, a mother of two, was one of the founders of Welsh language theatre company Theatr Bara Caws in 1977.
Welsh language film appearances included roles in Aderyn Papur, Rhosyn a Rhith and Stormydd Awst.
Iola Gregory as Mrs McGurk in Pobol y Cwm
Recent work included a part in the S4C drama series Rownd a Rownd, but she will be remembered best for her role behind the bar in the S4C soap opera.
Known affectionately as Mrs Mac, her sometimes ill-tempered and cigarette-smoking presence dominated the Deri Arms in the soap's fictional village of Cwmderi.
"Jean McGurk is one of Cwmderi's most popular and iconic characters," said Mr Morus.
"Keeping the Deri for a decade, Mrs Mac was at the heart of the valley, sometimes witty, sometimes fierce.
"All of us, cast and crew, are thinking of Iola Gregory's family and friends."
Chairman of the S4C Authority, Huw Jones, called Gregory "one of the great names" of Welsh drama.
"Whatever role she played, whether on stage, television or film, her presence would always be striking - a true sign of her natural ability to portray and create a character," he said.
Mr Jones called her contribution to drama "immense, her commitment to the creative industries filled with passion, and her passing is a huge loss to us all".
Playing the matron, with Nerys Hughes in the BBC drama series The District Nurse
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-42068171
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