Clodagh Rodgers has died at the age of 78

He wrote on Facebook: "With a heavy heart, my dear beautiful mum Clodagh has sadly passed away after battling an illness for the last three years. She passed away peacefully yesterday surrounded by her family in Cobham.

"Mum has lived an incredible life, full of love and happiness. Her fantastic career performing, traveling the world, devoting her life to her two sons and being the rock of this family. Life will not be the same without Mum, but she will finally be at peace now with dad, nanny and pappa."

Clodagh began her singing career as a teenager and made numerous television appearances throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

After finishing in fourth place at Eurovision, the Northern Irish-born star had intended to release 'Another Time, Another Place' as a follow-up single, but was stopped from doing so when Engelbert Humperdinck recorded his own version.

Instead, she released 'Lady Love Bug' and even though it became her last Top 30 single on the UK charts, she remained a regular on television and famously became the face of the Bisto gravy for their advertisements.

In 1987, she married Ian Sorbie - who died of a brain tumour in 1995 - and she retired from releasing music shortly after they welcomed sons Matthew and Sam..

Clodagh also had a career in theatre, starring in a West End musical 'Pump Boys and Dinettes' in 1984 before going on to play the leading role of Mrs Johnstone in 'Blood Brothers' when the London production was one of the longest-running of all time.

In the late 1990s, she reprised the part of the Liverpudlian matriarch for a UK tour for a number of years and then had a recurring role in the police drama series 'The Bill' in 2001.

By 2015, Clodagh had retired from the industry altogether and reflected at the time that she "did not miss" it at all and was enjoying a quieter life.

She told The Express: "I'm enormously proud of my two boys who've grown into men of integrity - Matthew is a property broker, while Sam produces TV commercials. I love my garden and it's amazing how easily I fill my days.

"I don't miss the business; that was then and this is now. I live in the moment."