BAFTA winning Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actress Georgina Hale dies

10 January 2024 , 19:58

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Georgina Hale died at the age of 80 earlier this month

Bafta-winning actress Georgina Hale has died at the age of 80.

The British film, stage and television actress starred alongside Adam Faith in Budgie, played T-Bag in the children's TV series of the same name, and had short stints in soap operas Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.

The late star's many TV credits also included appearances on Doctor Who, One Foot in the Grave, Minder, The Bill and A Rather English Marriage. One of her final cameos on the small screen came about in 2011, when she played Blanche Longford on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

It's believed she died on 4th January but her passing has only just come to light - with fans taking to social media to mourn the British star. "Sad news, brilliant career, Budgie and one of the best Minder episodes ever #GeorginaHale," one fan penned on Twitter (X) as they paid their respects online.

"Ah farewell Georgina Hale. It was glorious to watch the Budgie repeats on @TalkingPicsTV the other year and find her performance was still electric," another added, as a third tweeted: "#GeorginaHale was an interesting actress with a unique delivery, ensuring she always brought a touch of eccentricity to the screen. RIP."

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Georgina Hale was a talented actress on both stage and screen (EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)

The late star appeared in multiple productions, films and soaps (EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)

Georgina born in Ilford, East London, in 1943 to publicans Elsie and George Robert Hole. Away from her career, she married John Forgeham in 1964, but they later divorced.

Georgina received a Bafta film award as most promising newcomer in 1975, after appearing in film director Ken Russell's fictionalised musical biopic Mahler (1974), portraying the wife of the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, played by Robert Powell. She went on to work with Ken again, with two uncredited cameo appearances in his films Lisztomania (1975) and Valentino (1977).

In addition to TV and film work, Georgina was an accomplished stage actress - and was in the original London production of Steaming, for which she received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Speaking in 2002, Georgina recalled acting offers decreasing as she grew older, explaining: "Once I reached 51, my life changed. Four years ago, I tried to change my agent, and 11 turned me down. One told me they didn’t take actresses over 45 because it was too depressing to talk to them on the telephone."

During her dry spell when it came to acting jobs, Georgina spelling two years washing dishes in a restaurant to boost her income but managed to keep her artistic career going thanks to her stints on the stage and TV.

Zoe Delaney