Much-loved British actress Emma Chambers has died at the age of 53.
Best known as Alice in The Vicar of Dibley and Honey in 90s romcom hit Notting Hill, Chambers died of natural causes, her agent John Grant said in a statement.
"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,” he told The Guardian on Saturday.
"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."
Emma Chambers as Alice Tinker, Dawn French as Geraldine and Gary Waldhorn as David Horton in The Vicar of Dibley, 1995. Picture: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
It is understood Chambers passed away on February 21.
Actors, celebrities and fans alike have turned to social media to pay tribute to the popular actor.
Hugh Grant, whom Chambers appeared alongside in Notting Hill, where she played the eccentric sister of Grant’s character William Thacker, said she was a “brilliant actress”.
“Emma Chambers was a hilarious and very warm person and of course a brilliant actress. Very sad news,” he tweeted on Sunday morning.
James Dreyfus, who also worked with Chambers as the useless bookshop assistant in Notting Hill, sent his condolences to her family.
RIP the wonderful and talented Emma Chambers. Unique,& unspeakably funny. Too young. Thoughts with her family. X
— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) February 24, 2018
Chambers appeared as The Vicar of Dibley’s Alice in 24 episodes, earning the British Comedy Awards’ title of Best TV Comedy Actress in 1998.
Her other television credits include Helen Yardley in How Do You Want Me?, Martha Thompson on Take A Girl Like You, six appearances as Charity Pecksniff in Martin Chuzzlewit, Margaret in mini-series The Rainbow and a range of other parts on British TV in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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