Geraldine McEwan

"Cassandra" actress passes away.

6 February, 2015

Some sad news from last weekend, as it was reported that the actress Geraldine McEwan has died, at the age of 82.

Geraldine had a long and distinguished career - spanning fully six decades - on stage and screen, but was probably best known to viewers in the UK for her last great role, playing Miss Marple in ITV's long-running series Marple between 2004 and 2009. She had earlier played one of the memorable title roles in the classic series Mapp and Lucia, and also appeared in Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

But to Red Dwarf fans, of course, she'll be forever known as one of the show's standout guest performers, with her role as Cassandra in the Series VIII episode of the same name. Already a legendary actress by the time she came to make her appearance, most of the cast and crew were in awe of her reputation: but everybody who worked with her on the show has stories of what a delight she was to work with. And the respect went both ways, too, as Geraldine even asked the main Dwarf cast for autographs for her grandson!

"She was a brilliant, distinctive and decisive performer whose career incorporated high comedy on the West End stage, Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon, Laurence Olivier's National Theatre, and a cult television following," wrote theatre critic Michael Coveney in The Guardian. Writing in the same paper, meanwhile, Michael Billington spoke of "the mischievous wit that McEwan brought to every role" - something that was certainly true of her Red Dwarf appearance.

Geraldine McEwan passed away on 30th January 2015, and is fondly remembered by everyone at Red Dwarf and Grant Naylor Productions.