Emma Chambers

Emma Gwynedd Mary Chambers (11 March 1964 – 21 February 2018) was an English comic actress. She played the role of Alice Tinker in the BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley and Honey Thacker in the film Notting Hill (1999).[2]

For the Hollyoaks character, see Emma Chambers (Hollyoaks).

Emma Chambers
Chambers in 1994
Born
Emma Gwynedd Mary Chambers[1]

(1964-03-11)11 March 1964
Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died21 February 2018(2018-02-21) (aged 53)
Lymington, Hampshire, England
OccupationActress, comedienne
Years active1988–2007
Spouse(s)
Ian Dunn
​
(m. 1991)​

Early life

Chambers was born on 11 March 1964, in Doncaster,[3] the daughter of John Chambers, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and his wife Noelle, née Strange.[4] Her siblings are business owners Sarah and Simon, who created Storm Model Management.[5] She attended St. Mary's School and her secondary education was at St Swithun's School, Winchester, Hampshire.[6] She then trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in the 1980s, where she was a classmate of actor Ross Kemp.[7]

Career

After taking some smaller parts on television productions such as The Bill, in November 1994 Chambers played the role of Charity Pecksniff in the TV serialisation of the Charles Dickens novel Martin Chuzzlewit.[8]

From 1994 to 2007, she played the role of Alice Tinker in the BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley. Chambers appeared in all 20 episodes and four Comic Relief specials until 2007.[9] In 1998, Chambers won the British Comedy Award for Best Actress for her performance.[9]

Chambers voiced the character of "Belle Stickleback" in two series of the animated TV programme Pond Life (1996 and 2000)[10] and took the role of Helen Yardley in the TV series How Do You Want Me? (1998)[11] and appeared in the film Notting Hill (1999), as Honey, the younger sister of Hugh Grant's character.

She was cast as Martha Thompson in Take a Girl Like You (2000), a made-for-TV drama based on the Kingsley Amis novel and a remake of the 1970 film.[12] Chambers worked as a voice performer in the animated made-for-TV film The Wind in the Willows (1995)[11] and provided the voice of Spotty for two episodes in the CBeebies series Little Robots (2003).[8]

She was in theatre for about 10 years before her first break in television. She appeared in a number of stage productions including Tartuffe and Invisible Friends.[2] In 2002, she toured with the Michael Frayn play, Benefactors, where she starred opposite Neil Pearson.[13]

Personal life

Chambers was married to fellow actor Ian M. Dunn.[5] Before their marriage, she lodged with Ian McKellen, whom she regarded as "a sort of father figure".[2] She had a chronic allergy to animals, and had asthma.[5]

Death and legacy

Chambers died of a heart attack[14] on 21 February 2018 at the age of 53.[9]

On 26 February 2018 BBC One broadcast The Vicar of Dibley January 1998 episode "Love and Marriage" in Chambers' memory.[15] In a similar vein, on 11 March 2018 (on what would have been Chambers' 54th birthday), the Gold channel hosted a The Vicar of Dibley day in her memory.

In December 2020, in a series of shorter 'lockdown' episodes of The Vicar of Dibley, Chambers' character Alice was written out of the sitcom, it being revealed that she had died of cancer.[16] Similarly the final lockdown episode ended with a tribute just before the closing credits reading, "In loving memory of Liz, John, Emma and Roger", paying tribute to her and also three other late Dibley cast members (Liz Smith, John Bluthal and Roger Lloyd-Pack).

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1988 The Rainbow Margaret 2 episodes[10]
1990 The Bill Marie Summers 2 episodes[8]
1994 Martin Chuzzlewit Charity Pecksniff Regular role, 6 episodes[8]
1994–2007 The Vicar of Dibley Alice Tinker Series regular, 24 episodes, (final appearance)[8]
1995 The Wind in the Willows Jailer's daughter Voice, TV movie[11]
1996 Drop the Dead Donkey Carol Episode: "What Are Friends For?"[11]
1996 Pond Life Belle Voice, Series regular[10]
1998–1999 How Do You Want Me? Helen Yardley Regular role, 11 episodes[11]
1999 Notting Hill Honey Thacker [2]
1999 The Clandestine Marriage Betsy
2000 Take a Girl Like You Martha Thompson 3 episodes[11]
2003 Little Robots Spotty Voice, 2 episodes[8]

References
  1. "Emma Chambers", Reach for the Stars Archived 13 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2018
  2. "Emma Chambers: From dappy Alice to parasitic Sheila". The Independent. 9 June 2002. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009.
  3. "Emma Chambers". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009.
  4. Anthony Hayward, "Emma Chambers obituary", The Guardian, 25 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  5. Lambert, Victoria (22 July 2002). "It was either the actress or the cat". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  6. "Vicar of Dibley star Emma Chambers dies, aged 53". The Bournemouth Echo. 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  7. Price, Karen (24 February 2018). "The Vicar of Dibley actress Emma Chambers has died at the age of 53". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  8. Warner, Sam (24 February 2018). "Vicar of Dibley star Emma Chambers dies aged 53". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  9. "Actress Emma Chambers dies aged 53, agency confirms". BBC News. 24 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  10. Caulfield, AJ. "Notting Hill actress Emma Chambers dies at 53". Looper. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  11. Nyren, Erin (24 February 2018). "'Notting Hill' Actress Emma Chambers Dies at 53". Variety. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  12. "Take a Girl Like You [Part One] (2000)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  13. Wolf, Matt (18 July 2002). "Benefactors". Variety. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  14. "The real reason Vicar of Dibley actress Emma Chambers died". NZ Herald. 27 February 2018.
  15. Gill, James (26 February 2018). "BBC to repeat classic Vicar of Dibley wedding episode in memory of Emma Chambers".
  16. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000qfgs/the-vicar-of-dibley-in-lockdown-episode-2
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