NATASHA COLLINSTelevision actress Natasha Collins was found dead at her London home on 3 January, 2008.
She was best known for her role in the BBC’s See It Saw It children’s series. It was on the set of this show in 1999 that she first met television presenter Mark Speight, to whom she was engaged at the time of her death.
Ms Collins, 31, trained at drama school and had worked as an actress and model.Other television roles included parts in the BBC drama Real Women and the epic fantasy mini-series The 10th Kingdom, as well as appearances on 999. She had also acted on the stage and presented daytime television.
Her role in See It Saw It, a madcap observational game show for children, was See, a court jester to the King of Much Jollity-On-The-Mirth , played by Mr Speight. In it, she and other cast members would act out comic sketches which the audience would have to answer questions about by moving to one side or the other of a giant see-saw. The series ran for three years.
A car accident in 2001 left her in a coma for six weeks.The accident came just as she had landed a part in the TV soap Hollyoaks. Her career was hampered by the after-effects of the accident which left her with difficulty remembering lines as well as suffering from nightmares and panic attacks. But the accident did bring her closer to Mr Speight and their friendship blossomed into romance. Friends say she was planning to use compensation money from the accident to start her own production company.
Ms Collins was described as an outgoing, fun-loving character who enjoyed travelling and meeting new people. Her hobbies included painting, and playing the drums and flute.
Her body was discovered by Mr Speight at their London home. In April 2008, Westminster Coroner's Court heard that Ms Collinshad taken cocaine and sleeping tablets and the coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.
Clive Doig, managing director of Brechin, the company behind See It Saw It, said: "She was one of the three main actors on the series. She was a very good young actress and she was a lot of fun to work with. I’m shocked to hear of her death. It’s terribly sad."
A spokesman for her casting agency, HandE, also paid tribute to her: "Natasha had a fantastic personality and has been called back to reappear on advert and model campaigns and jobs many times.
"We are shocked and devastated that Natasha has passed away and we offer our support and condolences to her family and friends. She was a wonderful, confident young lady and her beauty was inside and out."
Her agent, Lynsey O’Donnell, said: "Natasha was a really lovely, bubbly girl. We had lots of fun with her. She was very reliable and always willing to do a job if you needed her."
After the inquest verdict, Mr Speight and Miss Collins' mother, Carmen, issued a joint statement which described Natasha as "a loving daughter, fiancee, sister and friend".
It added: "We are devastated that her life was cut short and we miss her deeply. She will always remain in our hearts." Mr Speight went missing a few days after the inquest and his body was found at Paddington station in London on Sunday April 13, 2008.
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