Archie Lyndhurst death: CBBC star died from brain haemorrhage, mother confirms

Actor’s mother suggests reporters called coroner’s office to find out results of postmortem

Archie (far right) with his father Nicholas Lyndhurst and mother Lucy Smith in 2017 (Rex Features)

CBBC actor Archie Lyndhurst, the son of Only Fools and Horses actor Nicholas Lyndhurst, died from a brain haemorrhage, his mother has confirmed.

Former National Ballet dancer Lucy Smith said a second postmortem examination concluded her 19-year-old son’s death was the result of “numerous bleeds” on the brain.

The teenager, who died “painlessly” in his sleep at his home in Fulham, west London, on 22 September, had a condition called Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, it was revealed.

Ms Smith said the results “utterly floored” the family. “It’s very rare and around only 800 people a year die from it,” she said of the intracerebral haemorrhage.

“Only days before he’d been with the love of his life, Nethra, celebrating his birthday early as she was due to go away with work commitments. Life is fragile, precious and sometimes incredibly cruel.”

Writing on Instagram, she added: “Nick and I try each day to make Archie proud, but it’s baby steps, beyond hard and a struggle at times. The world is a very different place without him. One of my last conversations with him was about all that was going on in the world, the chaos, anger about all different subjects.

“He looked at me with his huge blue soulful eyes, shook his head and said: ‘All the world needs is love mama, it’s so easy to love.’

“Archie was an empath. He loved life, he valued everyone in it and every moment he was given. He was always singing, and had such energy and passion in everything he did. To be part of his life has been the biggest joy mad honour. We miss him every day and always will.”

Archie, best known for playing Ollie Coulton in the CBBC comedy show So Awkward, followed his father – who played the much-loved Rodney Trotter alongside David Jason’s Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses from 1981-2003 – into the TV industry.

The teenager also appeared in Jack Whitehall’s Bad Education series and voiced a character in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward.

Ms Smith suggested she had been forced into making the statement after the coroner’s office informed her various media outlets had allegedly tried to get hold of her son’s death certificate.  

She wrote: “To have a coroner call you a few days after your child has died to say the press have been calling for the results of Archie’s postmortem, I think stoops to an all-time low for us. What gives the press the right to badger a coroner’s office solely to find the cause of death before the parents?

“The complete lack of empathy is astounding. We released no information at the time as we had no idea what he had died from.”

Archie’s funeral took place in a tiny chapel in November, his mother said in an previous message.