Lynda Bellingham obit

Lynda Bellingham: Tributes paid after actress dies at 66

 She was not on the list.

British actress and presenter Lynda Bellingham, who had cancer, has died at the age of 66, her agent has confirmed.

Sue Latimer said she died yesterday "in her husband's arms".

The actress, best known for her long-running role as a mother in the Oxo TV adverts, had been battling colon cancer since being diagnosed in July 2013.

Bellingham said she had planned to end her treatment to limit her family's suffering after it spread to her lungs and liver.

In a statement on behalf of Bellingham's family, Mrs Latimer said: "Lynda died peacefully in her husband's arms yesterday at a London hospital."

She added: "Actor, writer and presenter - to the end Lynda was a consummate professional."

Bellingham was also known for such shows as All Creatures Great and Small and in recent years was on the panel of ITV's Loose Women.

Husband Michael Pattemore told Yours magazine, external, for which his late wife was a columnist, that she had been unable to die at home as she had hoped.

"She was in too much pain and they didn't have it under control enough for me to be able to look after her," he said.

He told the magazine: "I just want her to be remembered as an actress more than anything, not as a celebrity or one of the Loose Women.

"She started her career as an actress and never thought of herself as a celebrity - she's always been an actress."

Speaking earlier this month, Bellingham said her decision to give up chemotherapy was "a huge relief because I took back some control of myself".

The first 20 minutes of Monday's Loose Women was dedicated to the show's former co-host.

"The mood is very different in the studio today," host Ruth Langsford said. "It's a very sad day for us here on Loose Women... but we want this to be a celebration of Lynda."

Bellingham's friend Christopher Biggins gave an emotional tribute, telling the show: "Last night was a very difficult night, but I went to bed laughing, thinking of a joke she used to tell over and over again.

"It's a blessing in a way, we don't want her to suffer any more."

Colleen Nolan, a panellist on the programme, was visibly moved but singer Jane McDonald, who also used to work on Loose Women, said Bellingham "would be mortified if we were all sad, weeping and wailing".

She added: "We have to keep the spirit of Lynda alive."

A final interview with Bellingham, which was recorded a few weeks ago, will be broadcast on Wednesday.

During an emotional appearance on the show recently, the actress told viewers: "Grasp it all, don't be afraid, enjoy the bits you can and tell your family you love them while you have the chance."

'Naughty and funny'

After her death was announced, Christopher Timothy, who starred opposite Bellingham in All Creatures Great and Small, described her as "a real friend".

"She was a life force. She was funny, she was loyal, talented and a great mum," he told the BBC.

"On set, she was 'one of the boys' really - she was naughty and funny. We've all been expecting it, but it is so unjust she didn't make her last Christmas as was her intention."

Michael Redfern, who played Bellingham's TV husband in the Oxo commercials that became a national institution, said "everyone liked her".

"I think she was just normal, I think that's all it was," he said. "She was like the lady next door, the wife, your mother. She had everything, just a very open person."

Kaye Adams, another of Bellingham's Loose Women co-presenters, said Bellingham would be remembered as "honest, generous, kind, courageous, intelligent, thoughtful".

'Ultimate professional'

Denise Welch, who also presented on Loose Women, told BBC Ulster Radio, external: "She turned everything into a positive. She's left a wonderful legacy. [She was] one of the best character actresses that this country has known."

Bellingham was born in Montreal, Canada, but grew up near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire after being adopted.

She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama and went on to land roles including Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great And Small and the title role in sitcom Faith In The Future.

The actress, who had two sons and was married three times, was awarded an OBE in 2013 for her charity work.

Filmography

Film roles

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1976    Confessions of a Driving Instructor    Mary Truscott 

1977    Sweeney!        Janice Wyatt   

1977    Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers       Valerie

1978    The Waterloo Bridge Handicap          Miss Beamish 

1981    Riding High    Miss Mott       

1998    The Scarlet Tunic        Emily Marlowe          

1999    Don't Go Breaking My Heart  Maxine           

2000    The Romanovs: An Imperial Family  Empress Alexandra Feodorovna        

2001    Bodywork       Poppy Fields  

2004    Devil's Gate    Marlene          

Television roles

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1971    The Misfit        Wee Jeanie      Episode: "On the New Establishment"

1971    ITV Sunday Night Theatre     Nurse Mary Tiller        Episode: "Mr. Pargiter"

1971    Kate     Hattie   2 Episodes

1971    A Family at War          Chrissie           3 Episodes

1972    The Fenn Street Gang Liza     Episode: "From Sudbury with Love"

1972–1973      General Hospital         Nurse Hilda Price        27 Episodes

1973    Tell Tarby        Nurse Norma Snockers           6 Episodes

1974    Z-Cars Pauline Tyson Episode: "Pressure"

1974    A Little Bit of Wisdom            Gwen Morgan Episode: "A Little Bit of Respect"

1974    Billy Liar         Alison  Episode: "Billy and the New Life"

1975    Within These Walls     Yvonne Melton            Episode: "The Slap"

1975    Z-Cars Irene    3 Episodes

1975    The Sweeney  Nancy King     Episode: "Trojan Bus"

1976    Couples           Jack     6 Episodes

1976    Whodunnit?     Suzy Booth     Episode: "Dead Ball"

1976    Yus My Dear   Carole  Episode: "Woman Trouble"

1977    Yes, Honestly  Amanda           Episode: "Entertaining Mr. Roscoe"

1977    Doctor on the Go        Eleanor Wilcox           Episode: "What's in a Name?"

1977    Big Boy Now! Brenda Bollington       Episode: "Supergirl"

1977    Cottage to Let Barbara            Episode: "Second Opinion"

1977    The Fuzz         WPC Pamela ‘Purrfect’ Purvis           All 7 Episodes

1978    The Pink Medicine Show       Various            All 6 Episodes

1979    Don't Forget to Write! Angela Episode: "Enter Hitler"

1979    Hazell  Vanessa           Episode: "Hazell Gets the Part"

1979    Shoestring       Nicola  Episode: "Find the Lady"

1980    The Professionals        Betty Hope      Episode: "Slush Fund"

1980    Mackenzie       Ruth Isaacs      All 12 Episodes

1981    Funny Man      Gwen  11 Episodes

1981    Blake's 7          Vena    Episode: "Headhunter"

1982    Murphy's Mob Elaine Murphy            12 Episodes

1982    Angels Kathy Stone    5 Episodes

1982    Educating Marmalade Registrar          Episode: "Walkies"

1984    The Gentle Touch       Alison Fairbrother       2 Episodes

1986    Doctor Who    The Inquisitor  14 Episodes

1987    Filthy Rich & Catflap Ms Tomkins    Episode: #1.4

1987    Screen Two     Mary Morris    Episode: "The Vision"

1988–1990      All Creatures Great and Small            Helen Herriot  47 Episodes

1990–1993      Jackanory        Storyteller        9 Episodes

1991–1994      Second Thoughts        Faith Greyshott           All 49 Episodes

1994    Martin Chuzzlewit      Mrs. Lupin      5 Episodes

1995    Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde Aunt Cassandra           Episode: "A Fright for Aunt Cassandra"

1995–1998      Faith in the Future       Faith Greyshott           All 22 Episodes

1998    Casualty          Steph Yates      Episode: "Trust"

2000–2003      At Home with the Braithwaites           Pauline Farnell            19 Episodes

2000    Reach for the Moon    Penny Martin   All 6 Episodes

2000    Bob Martin      Lynda Bellingham       Episode: "Mr. and Mrs."

2001    Waking the Dead        Mary Mantel   2 Episodes

2001    My Uncle Silas            Mrs. Gadsby   Episode: "The Widder"

2002    Happy Together           Teresa  TV film

2003    Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale       Landlady         TV film

2004    Midsomer Murders     Jane Willows   Episode: "The Fisher King"

2004    Dalziel and Pascoe      Jess Pitman      Episode: "Great Escapes"

2004    The Last Detective      Councillor Marjorie Balsam   Episode: "The Long Bank Holiday"

2004    Monkey Trousers        Various            TV film

2004    The Bill           Irene Radford  19 Episodes

2004    Odd Socks       Magdalena       Unaired TV series

2005    Murder in Suburbia     Milly Goodman          Episode: "The Wedding"

2006    Holby City      Caitlin Lucas   Episode: "Brother's Keeper"

2007    Bonkers           Mrs. Wadlow   5 episodes

2007    New Tricks      Det. Supt. Karen Hardwick    Episode: "Casualty"

2007    Robin Hood    Queen Eleanor Episode: "Treasure of the Nation"

2008    Re-extinct        Marg Precious TV film

2008    Love Soup       Matilda            Episode: "Whose God Is It Anyway?"

2009    Mister Eleven  Shirley Both 2 Episodes

2011    Just Rosie        Lynda Bellingham       TV film

2014–2015      Too Close for Comfort            Mary    All 4 Episodes

Stage

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1969    A Man for All Seasons            Margaret More            Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

1969–1970      Doctor in the House    Monica            Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

1970    The Wheel of Fortune Amy    Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

Toad of Toad Hall       Ratty    Lyceum Theatre, Crewe

1974    Bordello          Rachel Sondheim Theatre

1975    Norman, Is that You?  Mary    Phoenix Theatre

My Fat Friend Vicky   Theatre Royal, Windsor

1977    Castle in the Air          Boss Trent       Theatre Royal, Windsor

1978    The Flip Side  Sharon Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Croydon

1985    Strippers          Stripper            Phoenix Theatre

1985–1986      Look, No Hans!          Monica            Novello Theatre

2002    Marry Me You Idiot    Elinor Waugh  Jermyn Theatre, London

2005    Losing Louis   Elizabeth         Hampstead Theatre,Trafalgar Studios

2006    Sugar Mummies          Maggie            Royal Court Theatre

2007    Vincent River  Anita   Trafalgar Studios

2008–2009      Calendar Girls Chris    Noël Coward Theatre

2010–2012      Chris    UK Tour

2011–2012      Cinderella        Fairy Godmother         Birmingham Hippodrome

2012–2013      Cinderella        Fairy Godmother         Alahmbra Theatre, Bradford

2013–2014      Dick Whittington         Fairy Bowbells            White Rock Theatre, Hastings