Dame Jilly Cooper has been remembered at a memorial service attended by the Queen and stars from the television adaptation of her novel Rivals. The service took place at Southwark Cathedral on Friday, three months after the author died aged 88 following a fall at her home.
Among the guests were actors Danny Dyer, David Tennant, Dame Joanna Lumley, Rupert Everett, Sir Derek Jacobi, and sports broadcaster Clare Balding. Sir Derek Jacobi described Cooper as a “glorious lady” and said he “loved her very much”.
Gardener and television personality Alan Titchmarsh, a friend for 40 years, called Cooper “hugely genuine”, while actor Stanley Tucci, whose wife Felicity Blunt was Cooper’s literary agent, hailed her as “an extraordinary person, a brilliant writer, nice person and naughty”.
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth paid tribute, saying: “Whenever I think of Jilly Cooper, I think of one word, a three-letter word: fun, fun, fun, fun. That sums her up.” He added that champagne was “being popped in heaven today”.
Cooper’s children, Felix and Emily, announced her death in October, stating: “Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock.” The author was best known for her risqué fiction about the British elite, including the Rutshire Chronicles series. She was made a dame in 2024.
