By Peter
Coulter, BBC News, Belfast
Stars of the
BBC comedy drama Blandings have been paying tribute to the programme's pig
star, The Empress, who has died.
The Middle
White sow, died last week just before the final episode of the series was
broadcast.
The pig had
been living with her co-star Queenie, within the grounds of Crom Castle ,
where the programme was filmed in Lisbellaw, County Fermanagh
The TV series
is based on the celebrated stories by PG Wodehouse.
The BBC and
Mammoth Productions confirmed that the pig had passed away.
'Poor old
Empress'
Actor Timothy
Spall who plays Lord Clarence Emsworth in the show told the BBC he was
"very upset to hear of the passing of the poor old Empress."
"That was
her stage name, I never knew her real name, but that doesn't mean I didn't have
a lot of affection for her," he said.
"She was
by far the most flatulent member of the cast and believe me, she had a lot of
competition.
Actor Timothy
Spall has paid tribute to The Empress.
"At least
she had a late life in showbiz which she enjoyed very much when she managed to
wake up and I believe she had a luxurious life after her showbiz debut, as she
stayed living in the castle. "
Noel Johnston
had been looking after The Empress and Queenie on behalf of production company
Mammoth.
"I
acquired The Empress, I got her pig number and everything sorted and brought
her over from Lancashire . She was with us for
a fortnight getting settled in before she began filming.
"I looked
after the pigs with my wife and three sons. We had become very attached to
her," he said.
Mr Johnson
explained how that the family fed the pig as normal in the evening and she
seemed normal but said the following morning they discovered she had died.
"We
called the vet and he said that he believed that she had suffered a massive
heart attack," he said.
"She was
such a gentle pig, she was amazing really, she did everything that she was
told. It's such a shame she died before the final episode was broadcast."
Mr Johnson
said it would be very difficult for the production company to replace her.
"She was
such an odd funny looking pig, if there is a second series they will struggle
to find a pig like her," he said.
Delightful pig
Mr Johnson
said The Empress enjoyed sleeping up to 20 hours a day.
"She
loved her food but she also loved her sleep. You could hear her snoring from 50
yards away," he said.
"As soon
as you opened the door, she was up like a bolt because she knew the food was coming.
"The pigs
kept surprising us, the other pig from the programme, Queenie, had ten piglets
while we were filming which was a bit of a surprise as no one realised she was
pregnant," he said.
Queenie will
continue to live with the family within the grounds of the castle.
BBC executive
producer Kristian Smith said: "We were very lucky to have found such a
characterful and humorous pig.
"She
captured the spirit of The Empress of Blandings perfectly. We are saddened to
hear of her death, She was a delight."
The Empress
starred in BBC comedy Blandings alongside Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing, Mark
Williams and Jennifer Saunders.
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