Lynda Bellingham is laid to rest in Somerset

Christopher Biggins and Maureen Lipman after the funeral of Lynda Bellingham at St Bartholomew's Church in Crewkerne, Somerset. (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Christopher Biggins was among the stars of the showbiz world gathering to say goodbye to actress Lynda Bellingham at her funeral.

The TV star, wearing a bright pink suit and pale shirt, was accompanied to the service at St Bartholomew's Church in Crewkerne, Somerset, by his partner, Neil Sinclair.

Asked about his suit, Biggins replied: "She (Lynda) would like this, put a smile on her face."

Many of the guests arriving at the church were carrying umbrellas due to the rain, as more than 100 members of the public lined the path outside the church to pay their respects.

Lynda had asked for a lively send-off, so her husband, Michael Pattemore, has lined up a string of acts to make the funeral a Royal Variety-style celebration of the much-loved actress's life.

Her friend, former Archdeacon of London Peter Delaney MBE, led the service at the church, which holds 300 guests.

A memorial service will take place in London in February next year.

Among the showbiz stars gathering for the funeral were Loose Women Coleen Nolan, Jane McDonald, Andrea McLean and Kate Thornton, as well as Julia Sawalha, Coronation Street's Helen Worth, Robert Lindsay, Giles Brandreth and Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes.

Also attending was her screen husband from the hit Oxo adverts, Michael Redfern.

The actress, who died of cancer last month, was 66.

The TV star, best known for her long-running role as the mother in a squabbling family the Oxo adverts since the 1980s, had colon cancer which later spread to her lungs and liver. She was diagnosed last July, but recently said she had decided to end her treatment to limit the amount of suffering her family would witness.

In her last few weeks, she spoke openly about her illness and its effect on her family.

One of her last wishes was to spend one more Christmas at home with them, but husband Michael said the advanced state of her illness meant it was clear she was unable to die at home as she dearly wished.

He told Yours magazine, for which his late wife was a columnist: "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: "I can tell you now that the words on her gravestone will be 'The curtain went up on May 31 1948, and the final curtain went down on October 19 2014'."

Lynda's acting career included the title role in sitcom Faith In The Future and regular stage roles.

She was also a regular on panel show Loose Women, and filmed a special farewell episode where she spoke about her illness.

Her Loose Women co-presenter Nadia Sawalha, who also appeared with her in the Oxo adverts, paid tribute to a "brilliant actress".

She said Lynda told her fellow Loose Women panellists: "'Please, when I'm gone, have a big party for me and have a dance' and that's Lynda through and through."

The actress's decision to end her treatment was revealed in a newspaper serialisation of her autobiography which was published 10 days before she died.

The mother-of-two was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for her charity work.

Lynda, whose sister Barbara died from lung cancer, had been a high-profile supporter of Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The actress, who was adopted, published a best-selling memoir, Lost And Found, which dealt with her search for her birth mother. She also wrote a novel, Tell Me Tomorrow, which was published last year.

She married Michael, who was her third husband, on her 60th birthday.

The service began as Lynda's husband and sons Michael, 31, and Robert, 26 (both pictured), helped carry her wooden coffin adorned with white flowers into the church as Elgar's Nimrod - The Enigma Variations played.

Mourners following in behind the coffin wept as they carried single white roses. The congregation sang the hymn Lead us heavenly Father before Loose Women star Lisa Maxwell read The Epistle to the Romans (ch 8.31-39).

 

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.