archytele The Vault

Helen Ryan

Acting Born Jun 16, 1938 Liverpool, England, UK 24 credits

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.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Helen Ryan.

Known for

Midsomer Murders

as Mrs. Hilliard

The Crown

as Queen's Dresser

Heartbeat

as Betty Hawkins

Sherlock Holmes

as Princess of Wales

Sherlock Holmes

as Mrs McFarlane
Film

The Elephant Man

as Princess Alex

Full filmography

  • Midsomer Murders (1997) as Mrs. Hilliard
  • The Crown (2016) as Queen's Dresser
  • Heartbeat (1992) as Betty Hawkins
  • Sherlock Holmes (1984) as Princess of Wales
  • Sherlock Holmes (1984) as Mrs McFarlane
  • Van der Valk (1972) as Eva Maris
  • Bella Block (1993) as Meredith Walters
  • The Elephant Man (1980) as Princess Alex
  • The Duchess of Duke Street (1976) as Olive Bradford
  • Harry (1993) as Lady Jenvey
  • Fallen Angel (2007) as Angel's Neighbor
  • Old Guy (2024) as Tory Dolinski
  • Edward the Seventh (1975) as Princess Alexandra
  • Edward the Seventh (1975) as Queen Alexandra
  • Persuasion (1971) as Mrs. Harville
  • The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994) as Princess of Wales
  • Confetti (2006) as Naturist Violinist
  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984) as Mrs McFarlane
  • The Hawk (1993) as Mrs Crowther
  • My Brother Jonathan (1985) as Lavinia Dakers
  • Misunderstood (1983) as Lucy
  • Crystalstone (1987) as Aunt
  • Bertie and Elizabeth (2002) as Queen Wilhelmina
  • The Raisin (2017) as Woman at Door