Shirley Valentine actress Pauline Collins dies aged 85

Shirley Valentine actress Pauline Collins has sadly passed away aged 85. She died last Sunday, with the family issuing a statement today, 6 November, confirming that she had died.

Pauline was married to actor John Alderton, aged 84, and had three children – Nicholas, Richard, and Kate.

Both were one of Britain’s best-known acting couples, performing together in Upstairs, Downstairs and Thomas and Sarah.

She starred in several films, including Shirley Valentine, in which she starred alongside Bernard Hill, who died last year, aged 79. The film was released in 1989, and Pauline won many awards and nominations for the film.

Pauline also starred in many TV series and theatre productions throughout her storied acting career. Later in her life, as her long acting career became just memories, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and lived through it for nearly a decade.

She was moved to a hospice, where sadly she died with all her family around her.