Helen McCrory has died aged 52

Taking to Twitter to share the tragic news, her husband wrote in a poignant message: "I'm heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you."

Meanwhile, Helen - who was also known for her roles in 'Peaky Blinders' and 'The Queen' - previously described her romance with Damian as a "pure fluke".

She said: "He just made me laugh a lot. And still does. Of course, everyone in life wants someone to love and be loved by, but I think I was always just engrossed and involved in work. And no, the timing was pure fluke, pure chance, it always is, isn't it? ... He is [supportive]. Much more so than I am. He was the one that persuaded me to do 'Fearless'. He told me, 'You have to do 'Fearless'. You have to.' I pointed out that he was going to be in America filming 'Billions' and in ten years I've always had the children when he goes away filming. But he replied, 'Well, I'll do it. Of course I can.'"

Helen is survived by her husband Damian and their children - Manon, 14 and Gulliver, 13.