Haydn Gwynne Dies From Cancer, Star of The Windsors and Drop the Dead Donkey

English actress Haydn Gwynne, known for roles in TV shows including Drop the Dead Donkey, Peak Practice, Merseybeat and The Windsors, has died aged 66.

She also had an acclaimed stage career, being nominated for both Tony and Olivier awards in the West End and on Broadway for Billy Elliot the Musical.

She was Queen Camilla in royal spoof The Windsors, and played ex-PM Margaret Thatcher on stage in The Audience.

But she pulled out of a play last month after being diagnosed with cancer.

In a statement on Friday, her agent said: “It is with great sadness we are sharing with you that, following her recent diagnosis with cancer, the star of stage and screen Haydn Gwynne died in hospital in the small hours of Friday 20 October, surrounded by her beloved sons, close family and friends.

“We would like to thank the staff and teams at the Royal Marsden and Brompton Hospitals for their wonderful care over the last few weeks.”

Gwynne broke through in TV drama Nice Work in the late 1980s before finding wider fame and a Bafta nomination for playing cynical and stoical journalist Alex in topical satire Drop the Dead Donkey.

Two decades later, she was back on Channel 4 in comedy The Windsors, playing Camilla as “clearly the soap opera villainess”, she told The Irish News.

That was reflected in her costumes, which were designed “as if she were played by Joan Collins in a 1980s version”.

“So in a way that was very freeing, because it meant I didn’t have to go off and do serious research,” Gwynne said. “I could just have full fun with it.”

Another royal TV show came along when the actress portrayed Lady Susan Hussey, who resigned from the royal household following a racism row, in the fifth series of Netflix’s The Crown.

Her other TV parts included Dr Joanna Graham in Peak Practice, Supt Susan Blake in Merseybeat, and Julius Caesar’s wife Calpurnia in the BBC’s Rome.

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