• Agent confirmed death of 'well-loved' and 'vibrant' actress Briony McRoberts
  • She was married to Downton Abbey star David Robb
  • Her body was found at Fulham Broadway Tube station on Wednesday

By Olivia Williams

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Shock: Actress Briony McRoberts died at the age of 56, after being hit by a Tube train

Shock: Actress Briony McRoberts died at the age of 56, after being hit by a Tube train

Actress Briony McRoberts has died at the age of 56 after being hit by a Tube train near her home, her agent confirmed today.

McRoberts, who was married to Downton Abbey actor David Robb, appeared in Scottish drama Take The High Road for nine years and also starred in Taggart and EastEnders.

Her body was found at Fulham Broadway station in London just after 8.30am on Wednesday. 

Her agent Katie Threlfall said the 'well-loved' and 'vibrant' actress had taken her own life, describing the death as 'unbelievably shocking'. 

She said: 'It's just a terrible, terrible loss of a wonderful woman. Nobody had any idea it was going to happen.

'Her husband is deeply shocked.

'She was a wonderful woman who had troubles and she will be very much missed.

'She was so well-loved and was the most vibrant character you could hope to meet. It is just a tragedy.'

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire in 1957, her acting career took off when she was 19.

In 1976, she played Wendy Darling in a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan starring Mia Farrow and Danny Kaye.

The same year she starred as Margo Fassbender in The Pink Panther Strikes Again.

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Grief: The late actress Briony McRoberts with her husband actor David Robb, who stars as Dr Clarkson in Downton Abbey

Grief: The late actress with her husband actor David Robb, who stars as Dr Clarkson in Downton Abbey

Well-loved: Briony McRoberts in 1976 as Wendy in ITV's Peter Pan

Well-loved: McRoberts in 1976 as Wendy in ITV's Peter Pan, one of her earliest acting roles

Her long television career included appearances in The Bill, Heartbeat and The Professionals.

She played counsellor Carol Nickleson in EastEnders in 1990.

However, she was most famous for her role as Sam Hagen in Scottish drama Take The High Road, which she starred in until the late nineties. 

She went on to appear in Taggart, and her co-star Colin McCredie was one of the first to express his shock.

The actor who played DC Stuart Fraser wrote on Twitter: 'Devastating news. Such a brilliant lady, great company and a fine actress. I was very fond of Briony. I cannot believe it. She was so full of life and brilliant company. Poor David.'

 
Shock: The late actress Briony McRoberts withe her husband actor David Robb, who stars as Dr Clarkson in Downton Abbey

Sudden: McRoberts' agent Katie Threlfall said: 'Her husband is deeply shocked'

Fellow actor Andy Cameron wrote: 'Sad sad news about the death of Briony McRoberts. I shared a thousand laughs with her on High Road. My thoughts are with David. RIP Briony.'

Gary Hollywood, who also appeared in the long-running soap, said: 'RIP to my 'lady Laird' Briony McRoberts xxx.'

British Transport Police said a file had been prepared for the coroner. 

Her death is not being treated as suspicious.

Robb, who plays Dr Clarkson in Downton Abbey, has been a volunteer for The Samaritans in London for 25 years.

Popular couple: McRoberts' former co-stars have been expressing their sympathy for her grieving husband David Robb, pictured left as Dr Clarkson in Downton Abbey

One of her final theatrical roles was last month in a production of Sir Walter Scott's poem Lay of the Last Minstrel in Scotland alongside husband David and her long-time friend Joanna Lumley.

Outside her professional life, McRoberts was an active supporter of the Scottish Friends of the Earth's Fight the Fumes campaign.

Since 2004 She and David Robb ran every year in the Edinburgh Marathon to raise money for leukaemia research.





The comments below have been moderated in advance.

So beautiful and so sad. Way too early for such a beautiful woman.God rest her soul.

Sad. Also, poor tube driver :(

Bryony you were so lovely. RIP. God bless David x

Where does it say she was depressed??? - Gemma, high wycombe, 20/07/2013 23:35 Does a happy person throw themselves under a tube train?

How very, very sad. Having suffered from severe depression all my life I can empathise with those amongst us who have attempted to overcome the demons and have lost the fight and given up. It is a very serious illness but still not understood entirely by the medical profession, but more importantly not by our nearest and dearest, whose usual response is to say " pull yourself out of it "

Whilst someone taking their life is always very tragic, it upsets me so much when they use someone else as the mechanism behind taking their life. In these instances, the poor train driver. This poor soul has to live with that for the rest of their life. I understand that some people feel so hopeless that they have no choice, but why involve another human being in their demise? My heartfelt condolences to the driver and to the family of this lady who felt her life wasn't worth living anymore.

Awful for both the driver and her family:( prayers

Very sad RIP. I have never wanted to take my own life (have known depression (reactive) many times) so i can not judge but i hope if i have to do this i will leave no other soul in trauma.I feel sorry for the train driver + her loved ones .Hard to understand but God love her

Any sympathy for the driver?

A ghastly experience for the train driver as well.

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