Actress Jenny Seagrove has said Barbara Taylor Bradford “championed women earlier it was fashionable”, aft the best-selling writer died astatine the property of 91.
Seagrove, 67, played main quality Emma Harte successful the Channel 4 TV adaptation of her caller A Woman Of Substance, and described the writer arsenic “very special” with the quality to “make you consciousness precise peculiar arsenic well”.
Taylor Bradford’s publication follows the communicative of a pistillate who launches her ain retail empire aft starting retired arsenic a maid, and is portion of her Emma Harte Saga, which spawned 8 books, concluding with 2021’s A Man Of Honour.
When asked connected BBC Radio 4’s World At One if she felt the writer had tried to alteration things for women successful the originative industries, she replied: “I don’t deliberation consciously, but I bash deliberation successful a definite way, due to the fact that she fought, she was a writer astatine a clip erstwhile it wasn’t fashionable for women to beryllium journalists.
“I deliberation connected immoderate level, she championed women earlier women were fashionable to beryllium championed arsenic it were, and that is simply a large legacy.
“I deliberation she wrote from her heart, semi-autobiographical, arsenic I said, and I don’t deliberation radical acceptable retired consciously to bash something, but if it’s successful them, it’s successful them, and it comes across, and it’s a great, large legacy.”
Seagrove said she had remained friends with the writer aft playing the character, regularly going for meal with her and her hubby Robert E Taylor, whose decease she said “broke her heart”.
She added: “Every clip Bob and Barbara came to London, we’d each conscionable up, and we’d person dinner, and we’d person a chat.
“And past lockdown happened, and she’d mislaid Bob, and it broke her heart. It perfectly broke her heart, due to the fact that that was 1 of the large marriages.
“Then I flew implicit for her 90th birthday, wherever successful existent Barbara form, adjacent though she was ill, she enactment connected her finery and was piped successful by a bagpiper, and she conscionable ne'er changed.
Barbara Taylor Bradford died connected Sunday astatine the property of 91 (Caroll Taveras/Bradford Enterprises/PA)
PA Media
“She was ever curious, ever kind, ever championing women, and ever giving and sharing, and we had a communal emotion of dogs. She utilized to constitute with her small achromatic bichon frise dogs nether her desk.”
Seagrove said her favourite infinitesimal with Taylor Bradford was erstwhile she congratulated her for her show arsenic Emma.
She said: “That 1 magic infinitesimal erstwhile she walked implicit to me, and she conscionable went, ‘Jenny, you are my Emma’, with her somewhat bluish tones.
“It meant truthful much, and her eyes lit up erstwhile she saw maine successful the country connected her 90th birthday.
“She said, ‘oh, my Emma, you’ve come’, she was precise special, and she had the quality to marque you consciousness peculiar arsenic well.”
Seagrove said she had initially picked up the caller successful New Zealand, intending to “see if I tin bargain the rights”, but erstwhile she returned location she was contacted by her cause who told her “they privation to spot you for A Woman Of Substance”.
A spokeswoman for Taylor Bradford said Monday that she died peacefully and “surrounded by loved ones” connected Sunday pursuing a abbreviated illness.