A POPULAR Welsh actress from Corwen who documented her battle against cancer has died last week.

Heulwen Haf passed away aged 74 on Wednesday, December 5.

During her illustrious acting career, Heulwen starred in shows such as Pobol y Cwm, Casualty and S4C drama series Lan a Lawr.

A former TV presenter and model, she first started documenting her fight against a rare form of cancer in 2008.

During that televised journey, entitled 'Blodyn Haul: Stori Heulwen Haf' (Sunflower: Heulwen Haf's story) she faced chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy.

After receiving treatment, she starred in another documentary detailing her recovery process. She later wrote a book entitled 'Bron yn Berffaith' (Nearly Perfect) in which she openly talked about her feelings of having to facer cancer head on.

Heulwen also dedicated a lot of her time to raising money for and awareness of breast cancer charities.

Following her death last week, fans and friends took to social media to pay tribute to her.

Actor and close friend Stifyn Parry wrote: "Sadly we said goodbye to Heulwen Haf today. May Summer Sunshine shine brightly forever."

Amanda Rees, content director at S4C, added: "Losing Heulwen Haf is a huge loss to everyone here at S4C who remembers her as the dynamic presenter that she was.

"She was a wonderful, fun and energetic person. Our viewers will recognise her as a warm and interesting character who had a colourful personality."

Having grown up in Corwen, Heulwen was the daughter of a butcher and had worked in her own salon in the area for a long time.

She then had aspirations of becoming a model, during which time she lived in Liverpool and London before eventually settling down in Llandaff, Cardiff later on in life.

Heulwen was also a popular songstress who performed in both Welsh and English, before going on to become a recognised face on S4C.

Her final TV appearance cam just a few weeks ago, when she was a guest on S4C chat show Heno.