Wuthering Heights actress Hilary Heath dies after contracting COVID-19

Hilary Heath has died aged 74 after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

The Wuthering Heights actress passed away last week after contracting COVID-19, her godson Alex Williams confirmed.

Alex wrote a heartfelt tribute on Facebook: “We lost my wonderful Godmother Hilary Heath to Covid-19 last week.

Hilary Heath, who starred in Witchfinder General and Wuthering Heights, has died last week after contracting COVID-19

“Hilary had many careers, starting out as a screen and stage actress in the 1960s and 1970s, and then re-inventing herself as a producer in the 1990s, making films like Nil by Mouth (Gary Oldman) and An Awfully Big Adventure (Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman).

“Her most remarkable re-invention came in her mid-60s, when she won a master's degree from Oxford in psychology and became an addiction counsellor, specialising in CBT.

“She worked at clinics all over the world, often for free, often with very deprived and distressed individuals, and she regarded this as her most valuable work by far.

“She was a force of nature, and I can't bear it that she is no longer with us.”

Hilary was best known for her acting roles in films such as Witchfinder General (1968) and Wuthering Heights (1970).

She is credited as either Producer or Executive Producer for several films, including feature films Criminal Law (1988) and An Awfully Big Adventure (1995), starring Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.

In 1988 she won a CableAce Award for the TV movie The Worst Witch (1986).