Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes who played Truly Scrumptious dies aged 91

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Sally Ann Howes has died aged 91, her family has announced.

The actress, who played Truly Scrumptious alongside Dick van Dyke in the 1968 classic died on December 19, according to an obituary in the Times newspaper.

The news of Ms Howes’s passing was confirmed by her nephew, Toby, and her friend, the author Susan Granger.

“I can also confirm the passing of my beloved Aunty #SallyAnnhowes who died peacefully in her sleep yesterday,” said Ms Howes’s nephew on Twitter.

“My brother & I thought Sally Ann might hold on until the #Christmas screening of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as this would have greatly appealed to her mischievous side”.

Ms Granger shared an interview the star had with Rosie O’Donnell on social media, adding: “My dear friend Sally Ann Howes ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" passed”.

The actress, born in St John’s Wood in 1930, was the daughter of Bobby Howes, a popular stage and screen actor.

She learnt her trade at an early age, and starred in musicals and movies.

She is best known for playing Truly Scrumptious, performing the iconic solo song and dance routine of the Doll on a Music Box in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

A child star, the actress performed in a number of films, before making the move into musical theatre at the age of 20.

On Broadway in 1958, she took over from Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle, in My Fair Lady.

During her decades-long career, Ms Howes mainly focussed on theatre.

She starred in The King and I in the early 1970s, A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim in 1990 and her one-woman show, From This Moment On, also in 1990.