British actress and presenter Lynda Bellingham, who had cancer, has died at the age of 66, her agent has confirmed.
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, 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."
www.dntstore.com
No comments:
Post a Comment