Vale: Geraldine McEwan

BAFTA-winning actress Geraldine McEwan, best known as one of TV’s Miss Marples, has died aged 82.

BBC reports she died on January 30th.

“Following a stroke at the end of October and a period in hospital, Geraldine McEwan passed away peacefully on January 30,” a family statement said.

“Her family would like to thank the staff at Charing Cross Hospital who cared for her incredibly well.”

McEwan appeared in Agatha Christie’s Marple from 2004 until 2009 but enjoyed a long and successful career in theatre, television and film.

TV credits included Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, for which she won a BAFTA, Mapp And Lucia, Red Dwarf, Mulberry, The Barchester Chronicles, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Jackanory and Crime on Our Hands.

Films included Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, The Lazarus Child, Vanity Fair, The Magdalene Sisters, The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones, The Dance of Death and There Was a Young Lady.

She was born in Berkshire, and married Hugh Cruttwell, a former principal of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1953.

When she announced she was retiring from the role of Agatha Christie’s Marple in 2008, she said: “Of course, it is terribly disappointing to have to pass the baton on, but it has been a marvellous experience to inhabit this role for the last few years.”