Star of Drop the Dead Donkey and The Windsors

Haydn Gwynne, who starred in Drop the Dead Donkey  and The Windsors has died at the age of 66 following a cancer diagnosis.

On stage she has appeared in numerous productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company and playing Margaret Thatcher in the original West End production of The Audience, about the Queen meeting all her Prime Ministers. She   won a 2009 Drama Desk Award for  her role as Billy Elliot's dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson  in the Broadway production of that musical. 

Her other television roles include Peak Practice and Merseybeat and last year played the Queen’s confidante Lady Susan Hussey in the fifth series of The Crown.

Her West End last role was Pam Lee, a version of the real-life judge Prue Leith, in The Great British Bake Off Musical, which closed  in May. She was due to appear in the current London run of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, but pulled out last month following her diagnosis, although only 'sudden personal reasons' were cited at the time. 

A statement from her agents today 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.'

The actress had a tragic  family history of cancer. She lost her father, Guy to leukaemia, and her sister, Jane, also to cancer, in the space of two years when she was in her 30s.

Among those paying tribute today were Radio 4's Samira Ahmed, who posted: 'This is so awful. Haydn Gwynne was an incredible, inspiring actress. So sorry to hear this.'

Actor Samuel West added: 'This is a terrible loss. One of the nicest and one of the best.'

And Gimme Gimme Gimme and Coronation Street writer  Jonathan Harvey said: 'What incredibly sad news. A gifted and versatile all rounder. RIP Haydn Gwynne.'

Gwynne came to fame by playing Globelink assistant editor Alex Pates in Drop The Dead Donkey in 1990, offering a rare glimpse of competence in the newsroom.

And of playing Camilla in The Windsors, she described the role as 'the e soap-opera villainess that we know and perhaps love', adding: 'Villains are always good fun to play, and because it's comedy and very silly and ridiculous, that makes it even more joyful.'

A fourth series of The Windsors has been commissioned by Channel 4, but it is not believed that filming has yet started 

She leaves her partner, psychotherapist Jason Phipps, and two sons.

Published: 20 Oct 2023