It was a talent that led her to two of her most famous roles created by Yorkshire writers: the stern housekeeper Mrs Medlock in the 1993 adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, and as the eponymous Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett both on stage in London in 1999 and in the film adaptation some 15 years later.

But for many, Smith will be best remembered for two roles from her later years. Millions know her as Professor McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.