Helen Ryan

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

Acting roles

Year	Movie / TV show / Other	Role
2017	The Raisin	Woman at Door
2016	The Crown	Queen's Dresser
2016	Saddam Goes to Hollywood
2007	Fallen Angel	Angel's Neighbor
2006	Confetti	Naturist Violinist
2003	The Brides in the Bath	Mrs. Farraday
2002	Bertie and Elizabeth	Queen Wilhelmina
1997	Midsomer Murders	Mrs. Hilliard
1994	Bella Block	Meredith Walters
1993	The Hawk	Mrs Crowther
1993	Harry	Lady Jenvey
1992	Heartbeat	Betty Hawkins
1987	Crystalstone	Aunt
1985	My Brother Jonathan	Lavinia Dakers
1984	Sherlock Holmes	Princess of Wales
1984	Sherlock Holmes	Mrs McFarlane
1984	Misunderstood	Lucy
1983	Clash of Loyalties	Gertrude Bell
1980	The Elephant Man	Princess Alex
1975	Edward the Seventh	Queen Alexandra
1975	Jenny Can't Work Any Faster	Maureen
1972	Van der Valk	Eva Maris
1971	Persuasion	Mrs. Harville