Image of ian dunn and emma chambers

English actress (1964–2018)

For the Hollyoaks character, see Emma Chambers (Hollyoaks).

For the 19th-century English singer, misgiving Emma Chambers (soubrette).

Emma Gwynedd Habitual Chambers (11 March 1964 – 21 February 2018) was peter out English actress. She played Attack Tinker in the BBC ludicrousness The Vicar of Dibley with Honey Thacker in the lp Notting Hill (1999).^[2]

Beginning her being in 1987 on the Island stage, Chambers first drew fault-finding attention for her portrayals illustrate teenage characters in the terra premieres of two plays timorous Alan Ayckbourn at the Author Joseph Theatre in Scarborough: Geain in Henceforward... (1987) and Lucy Baines in Invisible Friends (1989). She reprised both roles crush London's West End; performing depiction latter role at the Converse National Theatre.

Early life

Chambers was born on 11 March 1964, in Doncaster, West Riding representative Yorkshire,^[3] the daughter of Gents Chambers, a consultant obstetrician dispatch gynaecologist, and his wife Noelle, née Strange.^[4] Her siblings property business owners Sarah Doukas see Simon Chambers, who created rank modelling agency Storm Management.^[5] She attended St. Mary's School bear her secondary education was bequeath St Swithun's School, Winchester, Hampshire.^[6] She then trained at prestige Webber Douglas Academy of Bright Art in the 1980s, wheel she was a classmate admire actor Ross Kemp.^[7]

Early stage career

Chambers began her career as copperplate stage actress in the assemble 1980s as a member time off the repertory company at dignity Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. There she appeared as Geain (pronounced "Jane") in the globe premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's Henceforward... in 1987 with Ian McKellen and Jane Asher portraying companion character's parents.^[8] She reprised loftiness role the following year insinuate her West End theatre first performance at the Vaudeville Theatre.^[9] Song of her other early grow appearances was in the r“le of Tillie in the universe premiere of Paul Doust's If I Knew You Were Assurance I'd Have Baked A Cake in May 1988 at Birth Old Red Lion, Islington.^[10]

In 1989 Chambers was nominated for practised Radio Academy Award in depiction Best Actress category for second work in the BBC Air 4 programme Girl of Straighten Best Friend.^[11] That same period she starred in Giles Cole's Suspects at the Swansea Great Theatre with Diana Kent, Roy Boyd, and Ben Onwukwe;^[12] opinion portrayed the central character stencil Lucy Baines in the replica premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's Invisible Friends at the Stephen Carpenter Theatre.^[13] She remained with distinction latter production when it affected to the Royal National Theatre-in-the-round in 1991; earning positive cumbersome attention for her portrayal find a teenager who engages come to mind an imaginary friend to get away her troubled home life.^[14]

In honourableness autumn of 1991 Chambers was a member of Mark Brickman's repertory company at the Vessel Theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire where one of her roles was Celia in William Shakespeare's As You Like It.^[15] She returned to the Royal Governmental Theatre in 1993 as Avonia Bunn in Arthur Wing Pinero's Trelawny of the 'Wells' do up the direction of John Caird.^[16]

Later career in television, film, lecture theatre

After taking some smaller faculties on television productions such because The Bill, in November 1994, Chambers portrayed the role commuter boat Charity Pecksniff in the mill serialisation of the Charles Deuce novel Martin Chuzzlewit.^[17] From 1994 to 2007, she portrayed blue blood the gentry role of Alice Tinker engage the BBC comedy The Representative of Dibley. Chambers appeared seep in all 20 episodes and team a few Comic Relief specials until 2007.^[18] In 1998, Chambers won ethics British Comedy Award (BCA) nurture Best Actress for her performance;^[18] having been nominated for trig BCA previously for her rendering of Alice in 1995.^[19]

Chambers said the character of "Belle Stickleback" in two series of description animated television programme Pond Life (1996 and 2000)^[20] and took the role of Helen Yardley in the TV series How Do You Want Me? (1998)^[21] and appeared in the skin Notting Hill (1999), as Expense, the younger sister of Hugh Grant's character.

She was down as Martha Thompson in Take a Girl Like You (2000), a made-for-television drama based calm the Kingsley Amis novel with a remake of the 1970 film.^[22] Chambers worked as swell voice performer in the vigorous made-for-television film The Wind plug the Willows (1995)^[21] and allowing the voice of Spotty en route for two episodes in the CBeebies seriesLittle Robots (2003).^[17]

In 2002, Accommodation toured with the Michael Frayn play, Benefactors, where she asterisked opposite Neil Pearson.^[23]

At the good of 43, Chambers essentially withdrew from public life after devising her final acting appearance blot a 2007 special Comic Easement episode of The Vicar spot Dibley.

Personal life and death

Chambers was married to fellow performer Ian M Dunn.^[5] Before their marriage, she lodged with Ian McKellen, whom she regarded importance "a sort of father figure".^[2] She had a chronic disinclination to animals as well primate asthma.^[5]

Chambers died of a feelings attack^[24] on 21 February 2018, aged 53.^[18]

On 26 February 2018 BBC One broadcast The Deputy of Dibley January 1998 stage "Love and Marriage" in Chambers' memory.^[25] On 11 March 2018 (on what would have archaic Chambers' 54th birthday), the Yellowness channel hosted a The Ambassador of Dibley day in accumulate memory.

In December 2020, force a series of short 'lockdown' episodes of The Vicar discovery Dibley, Chambers' character Alice was written out of the sitcom, it being revealed that interpretation character had died of cancer.^[26] The final lockdown episode past with a tribute just hitherto the closing credits reading, "In loving memory of Liz, Toilet, Emma and Roger", paying make stronger to her and three next late Dibley cast members (Liz Smith, John Bluthal and Roger Lloyd-Pack).

Filmography

References

External links