On The Buses' Anna Karen leaves most of her £420,000 estate to EastEnders co-star Sophie Lawrence

On the Buses and EastEnders star Anna Karen has left the bulk of her £427,000 estate to actress and close friend Sophie Lawrence who also starred in the BBC soap, it has been reported. Anna died aged 85 in a fire at her home in Illford, East London, back in February.

After rising to fame starring as Olive Rudge in the ITV sitcom set in a bus station, which ran from 1969 to 1973, Anna played Aunt Sal in EastEnders between 1996 and 2017. Sophie, 50, played Diane Butcher from 1988 to 1991 and then made guest appearances until 2012, the Mirror reports.

According to probate records seen by the MailOnline, Anna's will left 65 per cent of her net estate to Sophie after payment of funeral and legal costs, inheritance tax and a £1,500 legacy to another friend. It's reported that Anna's will left a further fifth of the residuary of her estate to her stepdaughter Gloria Gill, the daughter of her actor husband Terry Duggan, who died in 2008.

Sophie Lawrence, left, in EastEnders (BBC)

Another eighth was left to four other friends or relatives and the final 2.5 per cent was left to the Actors' Benevolent Fund.

Anna Karen, who was the last surviving star of the hit ITV sitcom On The Buses, also appeared in some of the Carry On films. She was born in South Africa and was also best friends with the late Dame Barbara Windsor, with whom she starred in EastEnders.

Aunt Sal was the aunt of Grant and Phil Mitchell and sister of Peggy Mitchell, played by Dame Barbara. Sophie played Diane, the daughter of Frank Butcher.

Anna Karen, left, as Aunt Sal alongside Barbara Windsor as Peggy Mitchell in 1996 (BBC)

It is believed the fire in Anna's home was caused by a cigarette after she fell asleep while smoking. "She was apparently in bed at the time of the fire. It’s thought she fell asleep with a cigarette,” a source told The Sun earlier this year.

Her agent Shane Collins also told the publication: "We don’t know if it was an electrical fault or whether it was because she was smoking."

Sophie, was born in Ilford but now lives. in Norwich. After finishing her soap career she reached number 21 in the UK singles charts in 1991 with a cover version of Donna Summer's 1977 song Love's Unkind.