Before the curtain came down, she promised one final show. And Lynda Bellingham did not disappoint.
The late actress's meticulously planned funeral was a touching, tearful and suitably theatrical affair, attended by family, friends and a raft of showbiz stars.
Fittingly, as her white flower-strewn coffin was carried from Parish church of St Bartholemew in Crewkerne, Somerset, There's No Business Like Showbusiness came blaring down the speakers. This was not your typical send-off.
Later, as her family said their private goodbyes grave-side, an electric display of fireworks went off, lighting up the surrounding countryside.
The 66-year-old star wanted to go with a bang - and that she did.
Earlier in the day around 300 fans had gathered to pay their respects to a woman whose talents graced both the stage and TV.
She was a Shakespearean actress but, to millions, Lynda Bellingham was best known as the Oxo mum.
It was something she embraced.
Or, in the words Giles Brandeth - the first of ten friends to give tributes - "She never, ever knocked the adverts; they paid for the school fees and a nice house.
"They went for 16 years, because no-one did it better."
The 100 minute service, attended by stars including Maureen Lipman, Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes, Robert Lindsay, Julia Sawalha, Coronation Street's Gail Worth and her former Loose Women colleagues, was exactly how Lynda imagined it.
It began with her heartbroken husband, Michael Pattemore, and sons, Robert, 26, and Michael, 31, carrying her wooden coffin in, as mourners followed carrying single white roses.
Nimrod, from Elgar's Enigmas Variations, played as her close friend, Archdeacon of London Peter Delaney, addressed the congregation.
Best pal Christopher Biggins wore a pink suit because he knew it would have "put a smile on her face".
Laughter was most definitely a prevalent theme throughout the service.
But there were also tears.
As Biggins paid tribute, his voice began to crack and, with it, so did the scores of mourners inside the church.
When Maureen Lipman visibly broke down towards the end of her eloquent speech, fans outside also welled-up.
The veteran actress spoke fondly of "Belly", telling the congregation: "I wish I could reproduce the fun times, all the joke-telling.
"Her sudden honking laughter, her craziness, her rich, throaty, slightly metallic voice, her high campery and her beautiful brown eyes.
"In this sad time we must attempt to adjust to living in a belligerent, sometimes bellicose world, which no longer holds our Belly."
Lynda's good friend Nickolas Grace, gave the longest speech of the afternoon, recounting their time together at drama school and as he said his final goodbye, again his voice quivered.
He paused, took a deep breath, and started again. There was not a dry eye in the house.
Between hymns - God Be In My Head and Lord Make Me An Instrument Of Your Peace - Lynda's Loose Women co-stars paid their respects.
Jane McDonald made the congregation laugh, joking that Lynda "hated" doing the show and Denise Welch received a warm round of applause after reading out a poem she'd written for the occasion.
"I'll miss you, Lynda, very much / As will everybody here / There's no need to say how much you were loved / Today that's abundantly clear."
There were prayers and a blessing, but this was no uptight, religious ceremony.
The "f" and "s" words popped-up throughout just as Lynda, with her bawdy sense of humour, would have wanted.
Two weeks on from her death, the result of a brave battle with colon cancer, this was a funeral mixing the sublime with the ridiculous.
In the days before she died, Lynda had spoken about her desire to see one more Christmas.
She fell two months and five days short but the actress made sure that her final act included something suitably festive. It came in the form of her favourite hymn, Away In A Manger, sung by the choir.
After being diagnosed with stage four cancer last July, the At Home With The Braithwaites star began penning her autobiography, There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You, and, in it, openly discussed her illness.
She also began planning her funeral with meticulous attention to detail.
As her devoted husband, who was by her side when she passed away, joked during the ceremony, Lynda always had to have the last word. And so it proved.
In life, she was the star of the show but, in death, she made sure her husband and sons, including step-son Bradley, took centre stage.
Michael, whom she dubbed her "Mr Spain" after meeting him there on holiday ten years ago to the day, just about held it together as he gave thanks to his late wife for their "all too short" time together.
He also read out a poem she had written him in the days leading-up to her death, which finished: "I love you, Michael."
Voice breaking, he ended with the words: "I love you too, Lynda."
But the most poignant part of the service came as the star's sons read out a letter she had written them both.
Telling the pair to look after one another, and be happy, she said she would "be watching" over them throughout their lives.
Again, there was not a dry eye to be seen.
As the coffin was carried away to her final resting place, at the Townsend Cemetery, it was, of course, Lynda who had the final say.
Concluding their address, her sons quoted one of their mother's favourite sayings.
It was one, you feel, that perfectly summed-up proceedings. "As she always told us on a bad day: 'Onwards and upwards, sons. Tomorrow's another day, and don't let the buggers get you down."
As curtain calls go, it couldn't have been better.
Source: www.mirro.uk
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