I first met Lena when we were both working on a Royal Gala show at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow in 1977, in the presence of the Queen and Prince Philip.

I remember standing in the wings with Lena and her manager, watching the Jackson Five, Dolly Parton and David Soul perform.

Later that year Lena and I met again when we were chosen to appear in the wonderful TV series “Hi Summer” with Leslie Crowther, Carl Wayne and Derek Griffiths and a great cast. Although Lena was only fourteen and I was in my twenties, we had an immediate connection and got on very well. (Probably because we were both Scottish,Catholic Scorpios!! Heaven help us!) Lena was a lovely natural girl with no pretensions whatever, which probably isn’t such a good thing in this stupidly pretentious business. But Lena was a little trooper and did not allow any personal upsets to affect her performances.

She was a ‘one off’; an amazing kid and there will never be another like her. Bless her. I miss her as we all do. Mari Gordon-Price