When an EastEnders star died after a courageous cancer battle, they left a huge sum to their husband – but within their will was a very special promise to a beloved co-star
A beloved EastEnders star died after a long cancer battle, but nobody could have forseeen the sweet promise she made to a co-star. Actress Wendy Richard passed away 17 years ago today, on 26 February 2009, aged just 65 years old.
Wendy died at the Harley Street Clinic in London with her husband John Burns at her bedside. At the time, her agent Kevin Francis paid tribute, saying: “She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humour right to the end.”
She is fondly remembered for her iconic portrayal of Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, a role she had for 21 years. However, prior to her soap stardom, she had already garnered a legion of fans as Miss Brahms in the sitcom Are You Being Served? The actress had previously battled cancer on two occasions, initially in the mid-1990s and again in 2002.
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Following extensive treatment, her cancer entered remission, but in 2008 she discovered the illness had returned in a particularly aggressive form. It had spread to her kidneys and bones, and in October the same year, she disclosed that the cancer was terminal. She then wed her long-term partner, her fourth husband, at a star-studded ceremony in London’s Mayfair.
After Wendy died, celebs paid tribute to her. Former EastEnders co-star Shane Richie, who portrayed Alfie Moon alongside Wendy, expressed his shock at her death at the time, saying he was “absolutely devastated”. And TV presenter Dale Winton, a long-time acquaintance of Wendy and who has since sadly died, reflected: “I knew her as a family friend first since I was a little boy and worked with her many times.
“I’m very saddened to hear the news, she was a real fighter and actually a very kind and funny lady in her own right. My thoughts are with her family, she will be missed.”
Close friend and broadcaster Esther Rantzen expressed deep sorrow at the loss of the beloved star, saying: “She was courageous, honest, a brilliant talent and she will be greatly missed. She was a woman of huge integrity, she was a terrific, terrific lady.”
When Wendy died, it was revealed that she wanted her ashes to be scattered with her late terrier Shirley’s and those of her husband John Burns when he dies. It was also claimed that she was leaving him her £2million fortune, but that she included a very special caveat in her will, with a promise to a beloved co-star. Wendy was said to be leaving everything to Natalie Cassidy, who played Sonia – her daughter-in-law on the soap – if John died within 28 days of her. Natalie was known to regard Wendy as “a second mum”.
In the end, Natalie apparently received cookbooks and jewellery from Wendy’s will.
Born Wendy Emerton in Middlesbrough in 1943, Richard was raised in London, where her parents operated a pub. She attended the Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, departing at 15 to work in the fashion department at Fortnum and Mason.
She later studied drama at the Italia Conti Stage Academy in London, opting to adopt the surname Richard because “it was short and neat”. In 1962 she featured on the novelty record Come Outside with British artist Mike Sarne, which soared to number one in the charts.
Wendy secured roles in the 1960s BBC soap The Newcomers, Dad’s Army, Up Pompeii! and The Likely Lads. She also starred in Carry On films alongside future EastEnders co-star Barbara Windsor.
However, she became a familiar face playing a cheeky Cockney shop assistant in Are You Being Served? for 12 years.
She joined EastEnders from the inaugural episode in 1985 and remained with the soap until Christmas 2006, when her character passed away. She received an MBE for services to television in 2000.
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