AN ORSETT born star of a hit BBC comedy has penned memoirs to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the show’s finale.

Sue Hodge, who spent her first 15 years in Corringham, went on to star as French waitress Mimi Labonq in Allo Allo, alongside Gorden Kaye, Sam Kelly and Vicki Michelle.

The sitcom, set in a small cafe in German-occupied France in the Second World War originally ran from 1982 to 1992.

The former Gable Hall School pupil has chronicled life behind the scenes in character, in “Mimi’s Memoirs ‘Allo ‘Allo.”

Despite currently being on sale, the book will be officially launched at the Museum of Comedy in London.

Sue says it was a performance on a cruise ship in 2015 alongside Only Fools and Horses stars John Challis and Sue Holderness which first prompted her to put pen to paper.

The 60-year-old says it was also a fitting tribute to co-star and close friend Kaye who died in January, and described him as a “great comedy exponent.”

She said: “I was offered work on the cruise ship, alongside Sue and John, and I couldn’t believe I was on a ship with Boycie and Marlene!

“I performed in character and had written some music as part of my work, and it was from there I started jotting things down.

“Once I had got the first draft together, it coincided with the 25th anniversary since the show stopped. It has been sold to 92 countries around the world, and is still very popular. Remarkably it has proved a big hit among younger viewers in Germany too.”

Reflecting on her upbringing in Corringham, Sue said: “It was a very happy childhood, and a lot of people will have known my parents Jean and Peter Hodge.

“It was a quiet village really, where we were able to walk to and from school, and it was very peaceful.

“I haven’t been back in a long time.”