Charity ‘let down’ On The Buses star Anna

A PRESTIGIOUS actors’ charity has been accused of ‘failing’ On The Buses star Anna Karen after she died in a fire at her home earlier this year.

Bedbound Ms Karen, 85, was killed when a blaze ripped through the ground floor of her home in Ilford, East London, in February.

The actress, who also appeared in EastEnders, was a beneficiary of the 140-year-old Actors’ Benevolent Fund (ABF), of which King Charles is Royal Patron.

ABF has been accused of failing to find Ms Karen a home where she could receive appropriate care.

Charity sources claim bosses said they were unable to relocate Ms Karen to a home where she could live with her dog, even though a trustee had found homes willing to take them. One source said: ‘Anna Karen didn’t need to die in that fire.’

Ms Karen played Olive Rudge, right, in sitcom On The Buses between 1969 and 1973, and Peggy Mitchell’s sister Auntie Sal in EastEnders from 1996 to 2017. An ABF spokesman said: ‘Anna Karen was a long-term beneficiary of the charity and she received the financial support she had wanted.’