A List stars gathered together and joined grieving widower Damian Lewis to celebrate the life of his late wife, Helen McCrory.
Helen – who was married to 51-year-old Damian in 2007 – tragically passed away last year at the age of 52 following a secret battle against cancer.
She passed away at her London home on on 16 April 2021 at a time when the UK was widely still in lockdown against the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Friday, a number of stars were out to celebrate the life of the actress and mother-of-two at a ceremony held at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden – attended by Damian and children Manon, 15, and Gulliver, 14.
Succession star Matthew McFadden and his wife, Finding Alice star Keeley Hawes, were among those attending the event.
While Helen’s Harry Potter co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes were also in attendance – with celebs hiding under umbrellas to escape the rain as they arrived.
The Daily Mail have published photos of the celebrities arriving at the memorial service and report the event lasted for an hour and saw Helen’s daughter Manon delivering a reading, while her son, Gulliver, also played guitar during the service.
Beethoven’s Ode to Joy was played as the service commenced and was followed by a prayer and the hymn Guide me, O thou Great Redeemer.
Maya Angelou’s poem, Touched by an Angel, was received during the event and Bob Dylan’s To Be Alone with You was also featured.
One guest told the publicationl: “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.
“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.
“And at the end of it she died at home with Damian and everybody around her just organising everything, including this [the memorial].”
A close friend added: “It was just the most beautiful memorial. It was very touching. Speechless.”
Peaky Blinders actors Joe and Finn Cole, who played Helen’s on-screen nephew and son John and Michael Shelby were among the guest.
And other guests included Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and Natascha McElhone.
Damian announced Helen’s shock death last year in a heartbreaking note: "I'm heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family."
He added: "She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."
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