// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
Chart-topping singer and television host Lena Martell dies aged 86
Lena Martell was the first solo Scottish female singer to top the UK singles chart with One Day at a Time
Scottish singer and Broadway performer Lena Martell has died at the age of 86.
She was the first solo Scottish female singer to top the UK singles chart with her cover of the song One Day at a Time in 1979.
Born Helen Thomson in Glasgow, Martell recorded a number of albums over the years and performed in New York and Las Vegas alongside Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Barbara Streisand.
She became a familiar entertainment star in the 1970s when she hosted her own BBC prime time television show for about a decade.
In posts on social media, fans paid tribute to Martell and shared memories of listening to her chart-topping single.
Fellow Scottish singer Barbara Dickson said she was sad to hear of Martell's death.
She said: "She had a lovely melodious quality to her voice and I remember my late father admiring her quiet talent".
Martell first started singing as a child with her elder brother's band before she went on to perform with the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow as a singer.
As a teenager, Martell appeared on a 1950s ITV show called Find the Singer.