Peaky Blinders star and poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65 as devastated family leads tributes

-
Peaky Blinders star and poet Benjamin Zephaniah dies aged 65 as devastated family leads tributes

Peaky Blinders star and poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died aged 65, with his devastated family sharing heart-breaking tributes. Zephaniah's death was announced in a statement posted on his Instagram account on Thursday morning (December 7).

It read: "It is with great sadness and regret that we announce the death of our beloved husband son and brother in the early hours of this morning. Benjamin was diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.

"Benjamin's wife was by his side throughout and was with him when he passed. We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news".

Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah Jesus and Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders

The family added: "Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much. Through an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio, Benjamin leaves us with a joyful and fantastic legacy. Thank you for the love you have shown Professor Benjamin Zephaniah."

Born Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah in Birmingham in 1958, the star published many collections of poetry as well as five novels and seven plays. In 2008 he was ranked one of Britain's top 50 post-war writers by The Times.

He was actor on screen and played the street preacher Jeremiah Jesus in the BBC series of Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022. He had also appeared on The Bill and was a panellist on QI in 2020.

Benjamin Zephaniah has passed away aged 65
Benjamin Zephaniah has passed away aged 65

Tributes for Benjamin Zephaniah have already started to pour in with Loose Women's Charlene White writing on X: "Thank-you for everything Benjamin Zephaniah", followed by a love heart and heart broken emoji.

Nadine White stated: "Iconic writer & poet Benjamin Zephaniah has died, a statement from his family confirms. Very sad news". Michael Rosen said: "The tragic terrible news has come to me that Benjamin Zephaniah's family have announced that Benjamin has died. I'm devastated.

"I admired him, respected him, learnt from him, loved him. Love and condolences to the family and to all who loved him too". While another added: "Rest in power Benjamin Zephaniah. A hero. A role model. An inspiration."

Love being across everything that's happening on TV each day? Sign up to MyLondon's TV Newsletter HERE.

Adblock test (Why?)



(Feed generated with FetchRSS)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Travel chaos inbound as Trams partly closed for 14 days in a row and sections of Overground shut for 8 days

-
Image
Londoners are preparing for two significant closures of parts of the capital's transport network in the coming weeks. Transport for London's (TfL) has said that its Tram network will be partly shut for 14 days in a row between February 10 and 23. The authority's calendar has also denoted that sections of the Overground will be shut for eight days. Between Saturday, Febraury 10, and Friday, February 23, there will be no Tram service between Reeves Corner and Sandilands. Bosses say a replacement bus service - the TL1 - will operate. READ MORE: HS2 won't start tunnelling to Euston for years as bosses wait for funding Sections of the London Overground will be closed for eight days (Image: Peter Zelei/Getty) Meanwhile, closures on the Overground will vary. Here is a full breakdown of what is planned: On February 3 and 4, there will be no service between Willesden Junction and Stratford. Replacement buses operate between Willesden Junction and Camden R...
« Blog »

Father of bullied Barnet girl, 14, says he's a 'victim of a failing system' after her suicide

-
Image
The father of a bullied North London schoolgirl said he is a 'victim of a failing system' following her suicide. Mia Janin, 14, took her own life after receiving a torrent of horrendous messages on social media. The Year 10 pupil at the Jewish Free School (JFS) in Kenton in Harrow, North West London was found dead at her family home in Barnet on March 12, 2021. At an inquest into her death, North London area coroner Tony Murphy concluded that Mia, 14, 'took her life while still a child and while still in the process of maturing into adulthood', at Barnet Coroner's Court on Friday. Mia's father, Mariano Janin, paid tribute to his daughter, saying: "She was fantastic, she was very bubbly, good sense of humour, she was beautiful, she was very kind, very creative." Mr Murphy, whose wife Marisa has since died as well, said Mia was last seen alive at about 10pm on March 11 2021, when she said good night to her parents in their family home. READ MORE...
« Blog »

Furious Sutton SEND parents slam 'disrespect' from council and announce end to 10-year partnership

-
Image
A forum made up of parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities has cut ties with Sutton Council, accusing the authority of a lack of trust and not working effectively with them. Sutton’s Parents and Carer Forum (SPCF), which has advised the council and helped shape SEND policy for around 10 years, cites ‘disrespect’ shown to them by Sutton Council as one of their reasons for deciding to cease contact with them as of March 3 this year. This decision could leave Sutton Council able to make SEND related decisions without any oversight or input from the parents they impact, however the council says it's looking into finding a new independent group to fill the void. SPCF is an Ofsted and Department for Education recognised body that has represented the borough’s SEND families for the last decade. According to their post, published on X last Friday: “The role of the parent carers on the Steering Group is to lead this work and listen to the views and...
« Blog »