Helen McCrory and husband Damien smiling
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Helen McCrory’s teenage children pay tribute to mum at memorial as new details of her death emerge

Peaky Blinders star passed away from breast cancer in April 2021

The teenage children of Helen McCrory paid tribute to their mum at a memorial attended by celebrities from the world of acting.

Daughter Manon, 15, and son Gulliver, 14, arrived at the service in central London with their father Damian Lewis.

Friends also revealed to MailOnline how Peaky Blinders star Helen endured challenges from treatment linked to her breast cancer.

Helen, 52, passed away over a year ago in April 2021. Her husband Damian hailed her as “fearless” at the time as he announced her death on Twitter.

Helen McCrory played Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders from 2013 onwards
Helen McCrory played Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders from 2013 until her death last year (Credit: BBC)

Helen McCrory memorial: Paying tribute one year on

Stars of stage and screen attended the memorial service, held at St Paul’s church in Covent Garden.

Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Keeley Hawes were all pictured at the event for the late Harry Potter star.

They were also joined by Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Natascha McElhone and Peaky Blinders co-stars Joe and Finn Cole.

Read more: Emotional Peaky Blinders fans all say same thing about tribute to Helen McCrory

The hour-long service featured Beethoven’s Ode to Joy and the hymn Guide me, O thou Great Redeemer.

Readings included a recital of Maya Angelou’s poem Touched by an Angel and Bob Dylan’s To Be Alone with You was also played.

Helen McCrory poses for the cameras at a showbiz event
Helen McCrory was also known across the world with audiences for her portrayal of Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter films (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Helen McCrory’s children

Manon and Gulliver also had a role as their mother was remembered. Manon delivered a poignant reading while her brother played the guitar.

A family guest credited Damian as they told the Mail about the moving service.

They said: “It was absolutely wonderful, and Damian was fantastic in organising it despite his grief. Gully played the guitar and Manon read and all the other actors who acted with her, and of course the director of her first play in the National, was here.”

The attendee went on to claim Helen only had use of one arm due to her condition.

She only had one arm – the operation had cut the nerve.

They indicated: “We knew that she had been ill for a very long time. Battled her way through it, Peaky Blinders, other plays. She only had one arm – the operation had cut the nerve.

Read more: Who’s who in Emmerdale? Meet the full 2022 cast here!

“And at the end of it she died at home with Damian and everybody around her just organising everything, including this [the memorial].”

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Robert Leigh
Freelance writer