Marian Diamond dead at 89: Brookside legend passes away ‘suddenly’ as Harry Potter star Miriam Margoyles leads tributes

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Brookside star Marain Diamond has died aged 89.

I was so saddened to hear about the passing of a dear friend and talented actress. Miriam Margoyles shared the heartbreaking news on social media, and it was a truly emotional tribute. It’s a difficult time, and we’re all sending our love and support.

She announced that Marian died at University College Hospital in London on January 5th.

Miriam Margoyles shared a sad announcement: her close friend, Marian Diamond, passed away last Monday at University College Hospital in London. Diamond was 89 years old.

I believe we first met in Edinburgh around 1968 at the Traverse Theatre, and I immediately fell in love with her. Before that, we’d already begun working together in radio after I joined the BBC Drama Rep. Company in 1965.

She was a truly kind and supportive person in our industry, always willing to help others and genuinely happy when they achieved their goals.

‘She was beautiful, gentle, full of fun, wise and perceptive.’ 

She continued: ‘I feel utterly bereft: a unique spirit has been taken very suddenly away from us. 

She lost both her sister, Gillian Diamond, a casting director, and her close friend, actor Hugh Dickson, in 2018.

‘Gillian’s sons survive her. I hope they will share with her friends the funeral details. 

‘She deserves a full house. Marian, you’re held in my heart forever.’

I was so incredibly saddened to hear, through Miriam Margoyles’ post, that my dear friend Marian Diamond passed away on January 5th at the age of 89. It’s a truly heartbreaking loss, and I’m sending all my condolences to those who knew and loved her.

She strongly supported Play School and my work preserving the show, and we enjoyed a friendship that lasted 35 years.

I knew she hadn’t been well lately, so I was delighted to see her in December 2024. She joined the original creator of Play School, Joy Whitby, along with Phyllida Law, Sophie Thompson, and Carol Chell at Riverside Studios. They were there to watch a rare episode from August 12th, 1965, that had been lost for years – an episode she had hosted with Rick Jones.

‘She was a gentle soul and did much work away from acting helping people. Will be sorely missed x’.

Marian was a successful actress who appeared in several television programs, such as Brookside, Jackanory, and Doctors.

Besides her work on television, she was highly recognized for her unique voice work in many BBC radio and TV programs.

The actress read stories for the children’s program Jackanory, and she provided the voice for Galadriel, known as the ‘Lady of the Woods,’ in a 1981 radio adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

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2026-01-14 18:03