Helen Ryan

Born: 1938-06-16

Helen Ryan (born June 16, 1938, in Liverpool, Lancashire) is a British actress, who is notable for playing several royal roles. The Liverpool native played Princess and then Queen Alexandra in the British television series Edward the Seventh, for which she received a BAFTA nomination in 1975. She also played Princess Alexandra in the 1980 movie The Elephant Man and the Sherlock Holmes story "The Mazarin Stone". She played another royal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, in the 2002 television drama Bertie and Elizabeth. Her other credits include Madame Balzac in the TV series Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975), Mrs. McFarlane in the Sherlock Holmes story "The Norwood Builder", and films such as Clash of Loyalties (1983), Misunderstood (1984) and The Hawk (1993). More recently, Ryan has appeared as Peggy Roath, a personal aide to Queen Elizabeth II, in the fifth season of The Crown in 2022. In 2023, she appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as Thelma Scott. She was formerly married to the theatre director Guy Slater, with whom she had a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Daniel.


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as Princess Alex
Released: 1980-10-09

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a...

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Confetti

as Naturist Violinist
Released: 2006-05-05

A mockumentary that follows three couples as they battle it out to win the coveted title of...

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Bertie and Elizabeth

as Queen Wilhelmina
Released: 2002-06-04

The duke of York, nicknamed Bertie, was born as royal 'spare heir', younger brother to the...

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Misunderstood

as Lucy
Released: 1984-03-30

A workaholic father becomes sole parent to his two young sons, and finds it hard to relate to...

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The Hawk

as Mrs Crowther
Released: 1993-12-03

Housewife Annie Marsh suspects her husband might be The Hawk, a brutal serial killer....

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Clash of Loyalties

as Gertrude Bell
Released: 1983-01-02

During the British colonial period in Iraq, Sheikh Dhari and his tribe openly reject...

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Crystalstone

as Aunt
Released: 1987-04-01

Deserted by their father and with their mother dead, nine-year-old Pablo and his little sister...

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The Brides in the Bath

as Mrs. Farraday
Released: 2003-12-31

Dramatisation of the real-life case of George Joseph Smith who was hanged in 1915 for the murder...

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The Raisin

as Woman at Door
Released: 2017-05-05

A short film about a raisin.

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Midsomer Murders

as Mrs. Hilliard
First aired: 1997-03-23

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed...

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The Crown

as Queen's Dresser
First aired: 2016-11-04

The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime...

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Bella Block

as Meredith Walters
First aired: 1993-12-17

Bella Block is a long-running German detective television series starring Hannelore Hoger, first...

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Sherlock Holmes

as Princess of Wales
First aired: 1984-04-24

Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the...

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Sherlock Holmes

as Mrs McFarlane
First aired: 1984-04-24

Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the...

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Heartbeat

as Betty Hawkins
First aired: 1992-04-10

Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly...

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Van der Valk

as Eva Maris
First aired: 1972-09-13

Van der Valk is a British television series that was produced by Thames Television for the ITV...

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Edward the Seventh

as Queen Alexandra
First aired: 1975-04-01

Edward the Seventh is a 1975 television drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the...

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Persuasion

as Mrs. Harville
First aired: 1971-04-18

British television adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name.

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Fallen Angel

as Angel's Neighbor
First aired: 2007-03-11

Fallen Angel is an ITV series broadcast on 11–13 March 2007 based on the Roth Trilogy of novels...

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My Brother Jonathan

as Lavinia Dakers
First aired: 1985-08-12

My Brother Jonathan is a 1985 BBC five part mini-series that relates the story of an idealistic...

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