Have lots of girlfriends... but no snogging at my funeral!
HELEN McCRORY’S ADVICE TO HUSBAND DAMIAN
HER heart-rending battle with cancer has only now been revealed following the shocking news of her death at 52.
But even in her final weeks, Helen McCrory faced her fate with courage and humour – telling husband Damian Lewis to ‘try to get through the funeral without snogging someone’.
Lewis revealed her quip and wish for him to find ‘love again’ in a tribute to his wife of nearly 14 years and mother to his two teenage children.
Ms McCrory, best known for her roles in Peaky Blinders and the Harry Potter films, died at home on Friday after a ‘heroic battle’ with cancer over which her friends had been ‘sworn to secrecy’, it has now emerged.
Homeland star Lewis said that ‘only a couple of weeks ago’ Ms McCrory had joked about him having future relationships. Writing in the Sunday Times, he said: ‘She said to us from her bed, “I want Daddy to have girlfriends, lots of them, you must all love again, love isn’t possessive, but you know, Damian, try at least to get through the funeral without snogging someone”.’
Lewis described her as ‘a meteor in our life’ as he reflected on her infectious sense of humour, love for life and stellar career. The couple married in 2007 and have a daughter, Manon, 14, and a son, Gulliver, 13.
He said that the actress, who played Polly in BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders and the villainous Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter, was ‘not interested in navel-gazing [or] self-reflection’, and passed her positivity on to others. ‘Helen believed you choose happiness,’ he said.
‘I’ve never known anyone able to enjoy life as much. Her ability to be in the present and enjoy the moment was inspirational. Nor was she interested in navel-gazing. No real interest in selfreflection; she believed in looking out, not in. Which is why she was able to turn her light so brightly on others.’
Lewis described his wife as having been ‘utterly heroic’ in her illness and said that she had told her children repeatedly she had ‘lived the life I wanted to’. ‘She has exhorted us to be courageous and not afraid,’ he said.
‘She has been utterly heroic in her illness. Funny, of course – generous, brave, uncomplaining, constantly reminding us all of how lucky we’ve been, how blessed we are.’
He added that Ms McCrory’s ‘most exquisite act of bravery and generosity’ had been to ‘normalise’ her death. ‘She’s shown no fear, no bitterness, no self-pity, only armed us with the courage to go on and insisted that no one be sad, because she is happy,’ he said. ‘She’s been a meteor in our life.’
Ms McCrory had spent the last year of her life – most of it in lockdown – painting and making music with her children. Speaking on the BBC Coronavirus Newscast podcast last April with Lewis, she said: ‘We’ve done quite a lot of painting with my daughter, we’ve done quite a lot of music. Damian plays guitar, Gully plays guitars.’
Ms McCrory was born in Paddington, west London, and has been a regular figure in TV dramas, including most recently ITV hit Quiz and the BBC’s political series, Roadkill.
She was also an award-winning stage actress and was awarded an OBE in 2017’s New Year Honours for her services to drama.
‘She has been utterly heroic in her illness’