Murder, She Wrote's Dame Angela Lansbury to receive lifetime achievement award

The Murder, She Wrote star will be presented with the prize at the 56th Rose d’Or award ceremony, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in Berlin on September 19.

The award recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution to entertainment throughout their careers and previous recipients include John Cleese and Stephen Fry.

She said of the prize: “I’m honoured to be coming to Berlin in September, for the first time in my life, to receive this most coveted award, the Rose d’Or.

“I cannot thank you enough and I’m so looking forward to being there.”

Dame Angela, 91, will be celebrated for her career spanning seven decades, during which she was nominated for three Oscars – for her first movie Gaslight in 1944, The Picture Of Dorian Gray in 1946 and The Manchurian Candidate in 1962.

The Bedknobs And Broomsticks actress played Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote between 1984 and 1996 and holds the record for the most Golden Globe nominations and wins for best actress in a television drama series and the record for most Emmy nods for outstanding lead actress in a drama series.

In 2014, she returned to the London stage for a run in Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre.

It was her first stage appearance in the city in nearly 40 years and won her an Olivier Award.

In the same year she was made a Dame by the Queen for her acting and charity work.

Jean Philip De Tender of the EBU said: “Dame Angela Lansbury is a true entertainment legend.

“The EBU believes her versatility and longevity make her the perfect recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Dame Angela has been entertaining audiences for over seven decades and her instantly recognisable performances have enriched the worlds of film, theatre and television.”