Kate Beckinsale announced this week the death of her stepfather, British television director Roy Battersby.
Battersby died last Wednesday in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family after “a brief period of illness,” according to a statement shared Monday during Emmy night on Beckinsale's Instagram account. He was 87 years old.
“I have no words yet,” the “Underworld” and “Pearl Harbor” actor captioned his post. “I fought for you with everything I had. “Oh Roy, I’m so sorry I lost.”
Last week, immediately after her Golden Globes appearance, Beckinsale rushed to the hospital and shared photos of herself gathered with others around a patient's bed, still dressed in her gown. The next day, she posted a black square on her Instagram with no caption from her. Her Instagram bio read: “A girl without a father thinks everything is possible and nothing is certain.” Although Beckinsale did not confirm the death of her stepfather, her fans began sending her condolences. Previous reports from December shared alleged details about Battersby's illness, which included an apparent cancer diagnosis and a stroke.
Battersby joined the Beckinsale acting family shortly after his father, Richard Beckinsale, known for his roles in British comedies, died suddenly in 1979 after a heart attack. While dating Beckinsale's mother, Jody Loe, who is also an actress, Battersby moved into her house when Beckinsale was 9, according to a 1997 interview with the Independent. Battersby eventually married Loe in 1997.
“Roy knew I was a traumatized little person,” Beckinsale, 50, told the Independent, adding that when he moved there, she was also struggling with an eating disorder because of her grief. “I didn't expect this idyllic girl with braids to be nice to him. I wasn't sure if he wanted my mother to marry someone else. …And he certainly didn't want brothers. Roy had four sons and a daughter. He wasn't in a boyish mood. He has been so brilliant. “He wasn’t pushy, he let me get closer to him.”
“I couldn't have woven a better one,” he added, referring to Battersby. However, despite his attractive presence, Battersby also caused some controversy in the Beckinsale household.
Battersby was also an active member of the Revolutionary Workers Party, a Trotskyist communist group in England. His activities landed him on the television industry's blacklist for part of his career. His 1977 television documentary, “The Palestinian,” generated condemnation for his critical stance toward Israel and featured a controversial interview with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The film also starred Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave, whose public beliefs in favor of Palestine also provoked intense backlash throughout her career. During the drama, Beckinsale said, government authorities intercepted her home.
“My friends and I were talking on the phone, you know, 'boom, willy, fanny,' and we'd hear the little click of the phone when the listener spoke,” she recalled to The Guardian in 2016. “And can you imagine some ghost on somewhere trying to crack the 'lazy-willy-fanny' code!
After ending his affiliation with the Workers' Party, Battersby's career recovered and he directed several episodes of the hit BBC crime drama “Between the Lines” during its three seasons, from 1992 to 1994.
Along with Monday's statement, Beckinsale shared a video montage showing photos and videos of Battersby with Beckinsale and Loe, laughing and dancing together. The video also included an interview with Battersby, during which he recalled experiencing World War II in England when he was a child. At night, during the air raids, he recalled hiding inside concrete shelters built on his street on Richmond Avenue in London.
When the war ended, Battersby said, that same street was transformed into a festive party, with neighbors setting up tables and chairs on the street and feasting on banana sandwiches, a rare commodity during the war. “It was a wonderful day because it meant that the air raids and everything were over,” he recalled, “and people didn't have to leave their families.”
