Kathleen Lee, the ever-popular first lady of the South Oxhey Community Choir, has died.

Mrs Lee, who shot to unlikely fame in the BBC documentary Unsung Town, passed away on Sunday at the age of 90.

Just days earlier she had been doing what she loved the most – singing with her many friends and fans at a choir rehearsal.

Mrs Lee, known to her many friends as Kitty, had performed in clubs during World War Two but believed her singing days were over. In 2009, however, she attended an audition for the popular BBC series and never looked back.

Speaking to the Watford Observer in October last year, she said: “It’s been great for community spirit and it’s had a great impact on me. Singing in a choir is not something you expect to be doing when you’re 90 years old but I am still really enjoying myself. It has really lifted me and helped a lot of people to meet each other.”

She also joked that she had become a minor celebrity and vowed to carry on singing for as long as she could.

Mrs Lee will be uppermost in the thoughts of her choir colleagues when they take to the stage at Watford’s Palace Theatre on Thursday evening.

Former choir chairman Russ Clancy explained: “She was the life and soul of the party – somebody who would light up a room. She never missed a performance and never missed a rehearsal.

“Everybody in the choir knew her and liked her. She was well loved by us all. It’s just such a shame that she has gone.”

Neighbour Krystel Copeland added: “She was a really lovely lady. I have just had a baby and she was so kind to us. She knitted me the most gorgeous things and would often come and visit us. It is very sad that she has died.”

Mrs Lee was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning and died later in the day.