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British TV actress Lynda Bellingham was 'domestic icon'

Bellingham appeared on such TV shows as 'All Creatures Great and Small' and was also widely known for starring in a series of Oxo commercials.

  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

British actress Lynda Bellingham has died. 

Bellingham, who appeared in such programs as the ITV TV show “Loose Women” and the TV series “All Creatures Great and Small,” died on Oct. 19, according to the Guardian.

“As an actor, writer and presenter, Lynda was a consummate professional to the very end,” her agent Sue Latimer said in a statement, according to the Guardian. “Those of us privileged to have known her personally will miss the entertaining, life-enhancing, true and honest friend that blessed our lives.” 

She is famous for having starred in advertisements for Oxo, which produces such food items as gravy and beef stock. Bellingham appeared in the ads from 1983 to 1999, according to the Independent, and the commercials caused a 10 percent increase in sales for the products, according to the Guardian. Guardian writer Matthew Weaver wrote that the commercials made Bellingham “a domestic icon” and actor Simon Pegg wrote of Bellingham and her maternal character in the commercials,

The actress also appeared in such programs as the TV shows “The Bill” and “Faith in the Future.” She also participated in the British reality program “Strictly Come Dancing,” which is the UK version of “Dancing With the Stars.” 

According to ITV News, some fans are asking for the Oxo commercials to air over Christmas in honor of Bellingham. “I think it would be a wonderful gesture to her family if the old Oxo adverts were screened over Christmas,” Facebook user Helen Scanlan wrote on the ITV Facebook page. “She remains in the nation's hearts.” A Facebook group titled “Oxo Advert Christmas Day Tribute For Lynda Bellingham” currently has more than 4,000 members.

“Let's make a wonderful tribute to a remarkable brave and talented lady. Spread the group if you think this should happen,” Facebook user Tina Burrell Was Harper wrote on the group page.

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