Kay Purcell (6 December 1963 – 23 December 2020)
Career
Purcell's first acting role was as a TV reporter in the TV series
Cracker in 1995. She then later starred in
Coronation Street as Rhona Summers for 3 episodes in 1997. She appeared as Jenny in the TV series
City Central. In 1998 and 2000, she starred in the
BBC One series
Casualty. In 1998 she played WDC McCarthy, and in 2000 played Diane Abley. Later in 2000, she starred in the TV series
Children's Ward as Winsome. Her first major role was as
Cynthia Daggert in ITV's
Emmerdale. She starred in 188 episodes from 2001 to 2002. Her next major role was in
Bernard's Watch from 2004 to 2005, as Ms. Savage for 21 episodes. Purcell played a supporting role in
BBC's
Waterloo Road as Bolton Smilie's mum Candice Smilie from 2007 to 2009. She played the role of
Gina Conway in
Tracy Beaker Returns for three series, as well as the first series of the spin-off series
The Dumping Ground.
Illness and death
In early 2017, Purcell was diagnosed with
breast cancer.
Purcell posted images, videos and blogs on social media to show her own experience of the disease.
In early 2020, Purcell was diagnosed with terminal
liver cancer and was given a life expectancy of two years.
She died from metastatic breast cancer which had spread to her liver on 23 December 2020, aged 57.
Filmography
|
|
| Episode: "True Romance: Part 2" |
| Recurring role; 9 episodes |
| 3 episodes |
| Episode: "Taking Sides" |
| Episode: "Paradise Lost" |
| Episode: "The Home Team" |
| Episode: "Fall Out" |
| Series 12: Episode 8 |
| Regular role; 188 episodes |
| Episode: "Read My Lips" |
| Main role; 21 episodes |
| Film |
| Episodes: "The Harrowing: Parts 1–3" |
| 2 episodes |
| Episode: "The Delivery" |
| 3 episodes |
| Main role; 24 episodes |
| All 39 episodes |
| Main role |
| Episode: "Connor Byrne and Kay Purcell" |
| Main role; 13 episodes |
| 13 episodes |
| Main role; 25 episodes |
| Episode: "D Is for Declarations" |
| 5 episodes |
| Episode: "Of Mice and Women"; posthumous release |
Theatre
-
The Winter's Tale (1993, as Paulina, Dorcas)
-
Everybody Knows All Birds Have Wings (1997)
-
Hormonal Housewives (2012)
-
Rapunzel (2013, as Gothel the Enchantress)
-
Sleeping Beauty (2014, as Carabosse)
External links
