Helen Ryan
Helen Ryan (born June 16, 1938, in Liverpool, Lancashire) is a British actress, who is notable for playing several royal roles. The Liverpool native played Princess and then Queen Alexandra in the British television series Edward the Seventh, for which she received a BAFTA nomination in 1975. She also played Princess Alexandra in the 1980 movie The Elephant Man and the Sherlock Holmes story "The Mazarin Stone". She played another royal, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, in the 2002 television drama Bertie and Elizabeth. Her other credits include Madame Balzac in the TV series Prometheus: The Life of Balzac (1975), Mrs. McFarlane in the Sherlock Holmes story "The Norwood Builder", and films such as Clash of Loyalties (1983), Misunderstood (1984) and The Hawk (1993). More recently, Ryan has appeared as Peggy Roath, a personal aide to Queen Elizabeth II, in the fifth season of The Crown in 2022. In 2023, she appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as Thelma Scott. She was formerly married to the theatre director Guy Slater, with whom she had a daughter, Rebecca, and a son, Daniel.
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 1938-06-16 · Liverpool, England, UK
Known for
- The Elephant Man (1980) — Princess Alex
- The Crown (2016) — Queen's Dresser
- Midsomer Murders (1997) — Mrs. Hilliard
- Sherlock Holmes (1984) — Princess of Wales
- Old Guy (2024) — Tory Dolinski
- Confetti (2006) — Naturist Violinist
- Heartbeat (1992) — Betty Hawkins
- The Duchess of Duke Street (1976) — Olive Bradford
- Misunderstood (1983) — Lucy
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994) — Princess of Wales
- Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) — Queen Wilhelmina
- Edward the Seventh (1975) — Princess Alexandra
- The Hawk (1993) — Mrs Crowther
- Van der Valk (1972) — Eva Maris
- Bella Block (1993) — Meredith Walters
- The Brides in the Bath (2003) — Mrs. Farraday