Eva Henderson Mottley (24 October 1953 – 14 February 1985) was a Barbadian-born British actress. She played Bella O'Reilly in the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

drama '' Widows'', and Corinne Tulser, wife of

Denzil Tulser Denzil Tulser (born 8 August 1948), is a character in the popular BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' played by Paul Barber. Denzil is a long-distance lorry driver originating from Liverpool, a good friend of Derek Trotter and one of Del's ...

in ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

''.

Early life

Mottley was born into a family of politicians in Barbados in 1953. Her grandfather, Ernest Mottley, was the first mayor of

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...

, while her cousin,

Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...

, was elected

Prime Minister of Barbados The prime minister of Barbados is the head of government of Barbados. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the Constitution. As the nominal holder of executive authority, the president holds responsibility for co ...

in 2018. She was raised in Nigeria and England. After serving 15 months in prison for possession of LSD, Mottley embarked on an acting career.

Career

Mottley appeared in the drama series '' Widows'', and was scheduled to appear in its sequel. However, shortly before her death in 1985, she left the production of ''Widows 2'' claiming that she had been racially and sexually abused by the production team. ''Widows 2'' was broadcast nearly two months later, with

Debby Bishop Debby Bishop (also credited as Debbie Bishop) is a British actress. She appeared in the second series of the television crime drama '' Widows 2'', having taken over the part of Bella O'Reilly from Eva Mottley who died before production began. B ...

in the role of Bella. Mottley's film credits included ''

Scrubbers ''Scrubbers'' is a 1982 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and produced by Don Boyd starring Amanda York, Kathy Burke, and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonia ...

'' and a small role in ''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and a sequel to '' ...

''. She had made other TV appearances, including '' Bergerac'' and a guest role on the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'', in the episode " Who's a Pretty Boy? as Corinne, the sharp-tongued wife of regular character Denzil. The character was originally set to appear in more episodes, but due to Mottley's death, John Sullivan chose not to recast the role out of respect to Mottley. Her character, Corinne, later separated from Denzil.

Personal life

Mottley had a two-year relationship with musician

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Death

In the months leading up to her death, Mottley became depressed about losing her job and developed an addiction to

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

and alcohol. Her addiction led to debts of £25,000 (). On Valentine's Day 1985, Mottley’s body was found in her Shirland Road flat in

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

. She died from suicide by overdosing on alcohol and barbiturates. She was 31 years old. She left one suicide note to her parents and another note that was only partially legible.

References

External links

* 1953 births 1985 deaths 20th-century English actresses 20th-century Nigerian actresses Alcohol-related deaths in England Barbadian actresses Barbadian emigrants to England Barbadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Drug-related suicides in England Suicides in Westminster English film actresses English people convicted of drug offences English people of Barbadian descent English television actresses Nigerian expatriates in England 1985 suicides {{UK-actor-stub