SAD NEWS: Emmerdale star found d3ad in bed after a night out, a heartbreaking tragedy. P0lice are urgently calling for a post-mortem examination.
Actress Paula Williamson, who appeared in Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, was found dead at her home in Stoke-on-Trent at the age of 38 after spending the previous evening out with friends.
Williamson was discovered in bed by her boyfriend, Peter Jones, on the morning of July 29, 2019.
An inquest later heard that she had taken drugs and alcohol, with the cause of death recorded as multiple drug toxicity. Staffordshire Police found no suspicious circumstances.
Her death brought a sudden end to a life that had included appearances in some of Britain’s best-known soaps as well as intense tabloid attention surrounding her marriage to prisoner Charles Bronson.
From Soap Roles to National Attention
Born and raised in the Sneyd Green area of Stoke-on-Trent, Williamson graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre in 2005.
She later landed small roles across British television.
Williamson appeared in Coronation Street three times between 2008 and 2012 as an unnamed nurse at Weatherfield General Hospital.
She also appeared twice in Emmerdale, including as a stripper named Holly and as the leader of an antenatal class.
In 2012, she played a doctor in Hollyoaks and also had a role in Scott & Bailey.
She was additionally one half of the comedy act Brides of Comedy.
Her life moved into a much more public spotlight after she began corresponding with Charles Bronson in 2013.
Williamson said she had written to him after reading his book about his time at Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital.
“I wanted to thank him — it had hope, and really helped me mentally,” she later told the BBC.
After several years of letters, she was granted permission to visit him at HMP Wakefield in 2016.
Bronson proposed the following year, and the couple married in the prison chapel in November 2017.
Marriage Broke Down Before Her Death
The relationship quickly became turbulent.
By 2018, Bronson said he wanted a divorce after photographs emerged of Williamson with another man while she was on holiday in Tenerife.
Williamson later appeared on Loose Women, where she spoke openly about struggles with alcohol and prescription medication.
“I have got an alcohol problem. I’ve got a drug problem — a prescription drug problem,” she said at the time.
The couple’s marriage continued to deteriorate, and in March 2019 Williamson announced that she intended to divorce Bronson.
By June, she had reportedly applied for an annulment on the grounds that their marriage had not been consummated.
At the same time, Williamson had started a new relationship with Peter Jones.
He later told the inquest that they had been together for around six months and were planning to marry.
Final Night and Inquest Findings
The inquest heard that Williamson went out with friends in Hanley on July 28, despite saying she felt unwell.
She returned home at around 11.15pm with a friend.
Jones told the hearing that Williamson had been drinking and that he later calmed her down following an argument.
She went to bed at around 1am while Jones slept downstairs.
When he checked on her at approximately 6.40am the next morning, he realised something was wrong and called emergency services.
“I knew something was wrong. I tried to wake her. I couldn’t wake her up,” he told the inquest.
Paramedics confirmed that she had died.
The coroner recorded the cause as multiple drug toxicity, while police said there were no suspicious circumstances.
Williamson’s mother, Hazel, later said her daughter had experienced depression connected to frustrations over her acting career, although she had seemed “much happier” after beginning her relationship with Jones.
At the time of her death, Williamson had also begun writing a tell-all autobiography.
Her career may have included only brief appearances in major soaps, but her life outside television brought her a level of public attention that ultimately overshadowed much of her acting work.
She was 38.
