Game of Thrones actor dies after cancer battle as The Crown star husband pays tribute
Game of Thrones actor Ian Gelder has sadly passed away after losing his fight with bile duct cancer at the age of just 74.
Confirming the news of his death on Tuesday evening, his husband, fellow actor and star of The Crown, Ben Daniels broke the heartbreaking news on social media. In an emotional post, Ben wrote: “It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder."
Opening up about Ian's cause of death, Ben continued: “Ian was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in December and yesterday he passed at 1.07pm. I’d stopped all work to be his carer but neither of us had any idea that it would all be so fast.
"He was my absolute rock and we’d been partners for more than 30 years. If we weren’t together we spoke to each other everyday."
In a heartfelt tribute to his late husband, Ben added: “He was the kindest, most generous spirited and loving human being. He was a wonderful wonderful actor and everyone who worked with him was touched by his heart and light.
“I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without him by my side. He coped with his dreadful illness with such bravery, with no self pity. Ever.
“He was remarkable and will be so missed. This pic was taken at Christmas time after I’d got him out of hospital and even though he’d gone through the worst three weeks there you can still see his joy and love shining through.
“Rest well my sweet Chianni. Xxxx”
For over fifty years Ian was a staple of theatre stages and TV screens, with hundreds of memorable roles among the impressive credentials lining his CV. Among his most notable works to date however, was his role as Kevin Lannister in the Game of Thrones series, and for the part of Mr Dekker in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
In 2019, he also briefly starred as Librarian Scholar Charles in the BBC TV series His Dark Materials, before taking on a guest role as Zellin in the popular sci-fi series Doctor Who.
Throughout his career, Ian found Ben to be his strongest supporter, with the couple having first having begun dating back in 1993 after crossing paths during a production of Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr Sloane. As romance blossomed between the pair, they later went on to marry and have been in a loving relationship for many years prior to Ian’s sad death.
