Barbara Clegg, who has died aged 98, had a successful acting career before moving into writing, and managed to make an impact on popular culture in both disciplines.

She came to wider public attention when, in 1958, she joined the medical drama Emergency Ward 10, ITV’s first twice-weekly soap opera, to play Nurse Jo Buckley. She soon became a leading character, grabbing headlines for courting then marrying Desmond Carrington’s Dr Chris Anderson, but she left the show after 18 months, tiring of the general public continually mistaking her for her fictional character. A year later the producers decided to kill off Jo and her baby in a drowning accident off-screen, which prompted hundreds of complaints from viewers.