Helen Ryan
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 16, 1938 (age 88)
- Birthplace
- Liverpool, England, UK
Biography
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
Filmography
Old Guy
Movie · as Tory Dolinski
The Raisin
Movie · as Woman at Door
Saddam Goes to Hollywood
Movie
The Crown
TV · as Queen's Dresser · 4 eps
Fallen Angel
TV · as Angel's Neighbor · 3 eps
Confetti
Movie · as Naturist Violinist
The Brides in the Bath
Movie · as Mrs. Farraday
Bertie and Elizabeth
Movie · as Queen Wilhelmina
Midsomer Murders
TV · as Mrs. Hilliard · 1 ep
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Princess of Wales · 1 ep
The Hawk
Movie · as Mrs Crowther
Bella Block
TV · as Meredith Walters · 1 ep
Harry
TV · as Lady Jenvey · 1 ep
Heartbeat
TV · as Betty Hawkins · 1 ep
Crystalstone
Movie · as Aunt
The Christmas Tree
Movie · as Mother
My Brother Jonathan
TV · as Lavinia Dakers · 5 eps
Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Princess of Wales, Mrs McFarlane · 1 ep
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Mrs McFarlane · 1 ep
Misunderstood
Movie · as Lucy
Clash of Loyalties
Movie · as Gertrude Bell
My Father's House
TV · as Celia Blake · 7 eps
The Elephant Man
Movie · as Princess Alex
Hannah
TV · as Hannah Mole · 4 eps
The Duchess of Duke Street
TV · as Olive Bradford · 1 ep
Jenny Can't Work Any Faster
Movie · as Maureen
Edward the Seventh
TV · as Princess Alexandra, Queen Alexandra · 5 eps
Van der Valk
TV · as Eva Maris · 1 ep
Home and Away
TV · as Miss Ormside · 3 eps
Persuasion
TV · as Mrs. Harville · 5 eps
The Lift
Movie · as Margot