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Extras star Ashley Jensen 'devastated' after husband Terence Beesley's sudden death

Paramedics were called to the house but Beesley was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards: Getty Images
Paramedics were called to the house but Beesley was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards: Getty Images

Extras star Ashley Jensen has been left “devastated” after the unexpected death of her husband.

Terence Beesley, a 60-year-old actor and writer, is understood to have been found unconscious at their family home in the village of Camerton in Somerset.

Paramedics were called to the house but Beesley was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards.

Jensen, a Scottish actor who is known for her roles in Ugly Betty and Extras, is currently starring in BBC drama Love, Lies and Records.

"Ashley is devastated and respectfully asks for privacy for her, her young child and the family at this extremely sad and difficult time,” said a spokesman for Jensen.

The cause of his death is not yet known but there will be an inquest next year.

Beesley, who is known for playing Buxton in ITV’s Victoria and General Bennigsen in BBC One’s War and Peace, is survived by his wife and their son, Francis, who is eight.

The actor, who was born in London to Irish parents, was the first actor to star as Derek Branning in EastEnders – playing the role in 1996 - and also appeared in film London Has Fallen in 2016. Beesley’s TV acting credits also include EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.

"It is with great sadness that I can confirm that Terence passed away at the end of November,” his representative said.

Beesley met Jensen, who is 48, in 1999 when they appeared in a London theatre production of King Lear. They married eight years later while Jensen was filming in America.

Jensen, who rose to fame and was nominated for an Emmy for playing the role of adorable but socially inept Maggie Jacobs in Ricky Gervais comedy Extras, and Beesley had been married for 10 years.

The couple moved to the US after Jensen successfully auditioned for a role in ABC comedy Ugly Betty while undertaking a California road trip with her husband.

The pair then married in Big Sur in California in 2007 and their dog Barney was the ring-bearer but they moved back to the city of Bath in Somerset after their son was born.