Emma Chambers, the British actress best known for playing Alice Tinker in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley and Honey Thacker in the 1999 film Notting Hill, died on February 21, 2018, at the age of 53. Her death, from a heart attack, was confirmed by BBC executive producer Jon Plowman, who told Radio 4: "It's no age to have a heart attack, as I understand it."
Chambers had battled multiple chronic health conditions for decades, including asthma and a severe allergy to animals. She was diagnosed with the allergy at the age of 8 and had spoken publicly about the dangers it posed to her health.
Life and career
Born in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, Chambers completed her secondary education in Winchester, Hampshire. Her sister, Sarah Doukas, and brother, Simon, went on to run Storm Model Management, the agency that discovered supermodel Kate Moss at the age of 14.
In the 1980s, she trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where her classmate was actor Ross Kemp. She began her career as a stage actress in the late 1980s, co-starring with Ian McKellen and Jane Asher in Alan Ayckbourn's 1987 play Henceforward.
Chambers was nominated in 1989 for a Radio Academy Award in the Best Actress category for her work on the BBC Radio 4 programme Girl of My Best Friend. After appearing in smaller television roles, she landed the part of Alice Tinker in The Vicar of Dibley, which she played from 1994 to 2007.
Health battles and personal life
In a 2002 interview with The Telegraph, Chambers revealed she had long suffered from asthma attacks and a chronic allergy to animals. She told the outlet: "I cannot touch animals."
Recalling a near-death incident when a cat appeared in her dressing room, she said: "I nearly died. It is silly, actually, as cats are synonymous with the theatre, but I just had no idea that was going to happen and neither did anyone else. I had to dash up to wardrobe, I had to leave."
She also described acting alongside farm animals in The Vicar of Dibley, remembering a take in which she "looked horrendous" and her "eyes were out there" in the shot. She shared that people did not take her allergy seriously, and her mother would tell her to "get on with it" because there was no understanding of "how chronic allergies can be".
Chambers married fellow actor Ian M Dunn in 1991. Before her marriage, she lived with her Henceforward co-star Ian McKellen, whom she regarded as a "sort of father figure".
Tributes and legacy
Her agent, John Grant, confirmed her death and said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly: "We are very sad to announce the untimely death, from natural causes, of the acclaimed actress Emma Chambers. Over the years, Emma created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. She brought laughter and joy to many, and will be greatly missed. At this difficult time we ask that the privacy of the family and loved ones be respected."
On February 26, 2018, BBC One broadcast the January 1998 episode of The Vicar of Dibley titled 'Love and Marriage' as a tribute. On March 11 that year, what would have been her 54th birthday, the Gold channel hosted a The Vicar of Dibley day in her memory.
Her Notting Hill co-star Hugh Grant posted on X, then Twitter: "Emma Chambers was a hilarious and very warm person and of course a brilliant actress. Very sad news." Dawn French, her Vicar of Dibley co-star, also paid tribute alongside a picture, writing: "I was regularly humped like this by the unique & beautiful spark that was Emma Chambers. I never minded. I loved her. A lot."
Chambers was survived by her husband, Ian Dunn, and her siblings, Sarah and Simon.
