Australian actor Cornelia Frances has lost her battle with cancer, aged 77

Veteran actor Cornelia Frances, who starred in The Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters, has lost her battle with cancer, aged 77.

Veteran actor Cornelia Frances has died, aged 77.

Veteran Australian actor Cornelia Frances has lost her battle with cancer.

Cornelia Frances as Sister Scott on The Young Doctors.

The 77-year-old is understood to have been surrounded by close family and friends when she died in Sydney overnight.

Among her many credits were Sons and Daughters, Prisoner, and The Young Doctors.

She also hosted the game show The Weakest Link and starred in Home and Away.

Frances was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2017 before being told it had spread to her hip.

“Cornelia Frances was a unique person,” a Seven spokeswoman said. “Her on screen presence inspired a generation of actors. This gift was coupled with an ability to bring a sense of dignity and presence into each room she entered. Her energy and character will be missed.”

The actor appeared on the Nine Network’s A Current Affair earlier this year from her bed in the same hospital at Greenwich on Sydney's north shore where The Young Doctors was set.

“I’ve always played the strong ladies,” she said. “I’m going to fight it [the cancer], by God I am,’’ she said.

“That 60 years in the industry It’s been a wonderful road and I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve loved every soapie I’ve been on.”

Home and Away actor Ray Meagher, who played her on screen brother, said: “We had a moment of silence for her on set this morning and she’ll be sadly missed by both cast and crew.”

Born Cornelia Frances Zulver on April 7, 1941 in Liverpool, England, she began her acting career in the UK.

But it wasn’t until after she moved to Australia in 1970 that her career flourished.

She played the hard-as-nails hospital enforcer Sister Grace Scott on the popular TV soap The Young Doctors, where she remained until 1978.

After a string of TV spots, Frances then starred in the comedy Kingswood Country before taking on the role of Barbara Armstrong in Sons and Daughters between 1982 and 1986.

Two years later she was cast as Morag Bellingham in Home and Away — a role she played on-and-off for almost 25 years.

Between seasons, Frances also hosted the Australian version of the quiz show The Weakest Link, starred in the series Always Greener, and provided the voice of the tortoise in the children’s series Magic Mountain.

With AAP