Family and celebrity friends gather at graveside of Lynda Bellingham for colourful fireworks display and pay tribute to the star who ‘taught us how to live then taught us how to die’

 

Fireworks were let off at Lynda Bellingham's graveside today as her family gave her the 'one final show' she wanted at her funeral 

There were tears and laughter at St Bartholomew's church in Crewkerne, Somerset, during a service of thanksgiving that was a fitting end for a woman whose final wish was for her loved-ones to 'have a party when I'm gone'.

Lynda Bellingham's husband and three sons carried her coffin today as mourners paid tribute to the 66-year-old's 'grace and courage' before hundreds watched as fireworks burst into the autumn sky while she was buried.

Ms Bellingham, best known for her long-running role as the mother in the Oxo TV adverts, died last month after battling colon cancer, and days before her death she bravely spoke of how she chose to end her cancer treatment.

Today the congregation wept as her coffin, covered in white flowers, was carried into the church and to the altar by her husband Michael, sons Michael and Robert and step-son Bradley.

Friend Giles Brandreth told the service: 'I've never known anyone more alive than Lynda Bellingham. She taught us how to die with grace and courage'. 

Mourners included her Loose Women co-stars Jane McDonald, Andrea McLean, Kate Thornton, Lisa Maxwell and Coleen Nolan as well as as close friends author Lynda La Plante and actress Maureen Lipman.

Friend Christopher Biggins said he wore a pink suit because he 'knew it would put a smile on her face' while the church was filled with white flowers and mourners wept as they carried white roses. Outside the church dozens of fans gathered to pay their respects.

See more pictures after the cut...

Emotional: Lynda Bellingham's husband Michael Pattemore (centre), her son Michael (front right), her step-son Bradley (second left) and and third son Robert (second right) carried her coffin into the Somerset church for her funeral today

Old friends: Loose Women co-stars Jane McDonald (second left), Andrea McLean (centre) and Kate Thornton (right) join others mourners as they arrive for the funeral of Lynda Bellingham at St Bartholomew's Church in Crewkerne, Somerset

Mourners: Friend Coleen Nolan and Lynda Bellingham's on-screen husband from the Oxo adverts Michael Redfern arrive at the church 

Moving: These floral tributes, which read Lynda and Mum, were carried out of St Bartholomew's Church in Crewkerne, Somerset, today and taken to her graveside

Final show: Lynda Bellingham, pictured with her husband at the Palace in March, discussed her illness openly, appearing in a Loose Women special with Coleen Nolan and Janet Street-Porter that was broadcast days after her death 

Stars Julia Sawalha, Coronation Street's Gail Worth, Robert Lindsay, Giles Brandreth and Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes also arrived to pay their respects this morning. 

Many of the guests arriving at the church were carrying umbrellas due to the rain, as more than 100 members of the public lined the path outside the church to pay their respects.