Love Actually star Joanna Bacon has died at the age of 72, with tributes flooding in paying homage to the actress. Bacon was diagnosed with cancer in January and died in June, with her funeral taking place yesterday on July 15. The actor was best known for playing the mother of Natalie (played by Martine McCutcheon), who appears in the 2003 film when the Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant) knocks on her door in Wandsworth, in an attempt to win Natalie back. Bacon was also best known for her appearances in EastEnders, Casualty, The Bill, Pie in the Sky, Little Britain, A Touch of Frost and New Tricks (Picture: Studio Canal)

She also notably appeared in the series Breeders, where she played Jackie, the mother of Paul (played by Martin Freeman). The star became a fan-favourite character in the series that ran from 2020 until 2023 for four seasons, with Bacon receiving huge praise for her dark comedy performance (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

At the funeral on Tuesday, celebrant Jo Moore said: ‘Jo’s talent as an actor was a gift that she shared with the world. On stage and on screen, she brought us joy, laughter, and inspiration, leaving an indelible mark on the lives of everyone she reached. She was a woman of many talents and facets, and I would like to share with you a description of Jo, given by Gill, one of her lifelong friends: 'Jo’s life was a wonderful, elaborate, kaleidoscope with different sections for each of her passions and only Jo was at the centre and could see and enjoy the whole kaleidoscope' (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

‘In many ways, Jo was a contradiction – a flamboyant extrovert, a superb wit, a natural communicator and yet, at the same time, an introspective loner. We all thought we knew her so well but, in reality, we each only knew and loved one aspect of her' (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

It was said at the funeral that at the beginning of 2025, when Bacon received her diagnosis, she told herself: ‘I have had a brilliant life. I have been so lucky to do the things I have done and to have met the wonderful people I have met. I have no regrets' (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

Her good friend, Barry Bowen, said at the service: ‘The thing I remember and love most about her I suspected in those early local days and it proved true in spades as the years went by… her unfailing loyalty to her friends. If Jo had wanted to be anything other than the humble person we all knew, she was so well equipped to be a name dropper. Sharing stages and studios with the likes of Redgrave, O’Toole, Mirren, Bates, Rickman, Grant, Firth, and Freeman was a silent compliment to her' (Picture: Alamy Stock Photo)

The Harlow Theatre Company also paid tribute: ‘Jo will be sadly missed and fondly remembered. She continued to support HTC attending many of our productions. She would settle herself in the front row with a notebook and watched with a critical eye and her passion for theatre. She never forgot to praise our work' (Picture: Studio Canal)

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