Helen Ryan
Born: 1938-06-16 in Liverpool, England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
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.
Filmography
2024
- Old Guy as Tory Dolinski
2017
- The Raisin as Woman at Door
2016
- The Crown as Queen's Dresser
- Saddam Goes to Hollywood
2007
- Fallen Angel as Angel's Neighbor
2006
- Confetti as Naturist Violinist
2003
- The Brides in the Bath as Mrs. Farraday
2002
- Bertie and Elizabeth as Queen Wilhelmina
1997
- Midsomer Murders as Mrs. Hilliard
1993
- Bella Block as Meredith Walters
- The Hawk as Mrs Crowther
- Harry as Lady Jenvey
1992
- Heartbeat as Betty Hawkins
1987
- Crystalstone as Aunt
1986
- The Christmas Tree as Mother
1985
- My Brother Jonathan as Lavinia Dakers
1984
- Sherlock Holmes as Princess of Wales
1983
- Misunderstood as Lucy
- Clash of Loyalties as Gertrude Bell
1980
- The Elephant Man as Princess Alex
1975
- Jenny Can't Work Any Faster as Maureen
- Edward the Seventh as Princess Alexandra
1972
- Van der Valk as Eva Maris
1971
- Persuasion as Mrs. Harville
1965
- The Lift as Margot