SCUNTHORPE'S leading lady Liz Smith brought down the curtain on her 40-year acting career by declaring: "I've earned a rest."

The 87-year-old star, who was born in Crosby, is quitting the screen after suffering a stroke earlier this year.

The actress, who is best-known for her role as Nana in The Royle Family, said she was getting stronger after spending two months in hospital but thought further acting roles were beyond her.

She said: "I do get muddled and sometimes feel I have to reach for words that elude me.

"I was getting terribly tired anyway, although I'd like to think I could eventually write again.

"I've got stories in my head, but I'm nearly 90 so if I don't do much now, at least I've earned a rest."

Television viewers will see her reflect on her North Lincolnshire childhood in a programme called Liz Smith's Summer Cruise, to be shown on BBC4 on Sunday.

Her mother died in childbirth and her father later abandoned her.

She said: "One day he met me coming out of Sunday school.

"He said 'Bye bye kid, I'll write' and backed away. That's the last I saw of him."

Liz has enjoyed a television career spanning nearly 40 years after making her acting debut in 1970.

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