BBC Beyond Paradise Barbara Flynn's life, including famous husband's tragic death

Beyond Paradise actress Barbara Flynn has had a remarkable career, but her personal life has been marked by tragedy. The star, who first gained recognition in 1970 for her role as Freda Ashton in ITV's A Family at War, and later appeared in Doctor Who and The Durrells, lost her husband Jeremy Taylor suddenly in 2017.

Barbara and Jeremy first crossed paths at a party in Camden Town, north London. They married in 1982 and welcomed their son Linus in 1990.

Jeremy was a respected TV producer, known for his work on numerous documentary films for BBC's Horizon. He also made his mark as a science writer, publishing two books on evolution before his untimely death.

In 2017, Jeremy began experiencing stomach problems. After visiting his GP, he was swiftly referred for a CT scan.

Tragically, the results revealed that he had pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The scan also showed signs of metastatic cancer in his lungs, lymph nodes, and bowel, according to Pancreatic Cancer UK, reports the Express.

Jeremy, who originally abandoned his PhD to become a researcher for the BBC series Tomorrow's World, passed away just four weeks after his diagnosis.

Reflecting on her husband's sudden passing, 75-year-old Barbara previously wrote: "My husband, Jeremy Taylor, who has died aged 70, was a television producer and science writer."

"A modest man of huge intellectual capacity, he had a gift for communicating complex scientific ideas with ease, whether on paper, film, or face to face."

The BBC actress continued to tell The Guardian that her late spouse "relished" working with inspirational documentary editors. He also had a deep interest in determining the origins of humans.

Recounting the four weeks before his death, Barbara added: "Jerry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just four weeks before his death, which he faced with grace, candour and clear-sightedness."

Speaking as part of Pancreatic Cancer UK's Lost Voices Campaign, Barbara said she found Jeremy's death to be "horrid and deeply cruel" before calling for further action.

"We must do something about it. We must try and diagnose this dreadful disease which is so completely immediate because he had stomach dysfunctions... So we had no time at all."

The star continued to say that an early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is "truly what needs to be moved".

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of pancreatic cancer include stomach pain, weight loss, dark-coloured urine, and an overwhelming feeling of tiredness.

The organisation recommends anyone that who is suffering from worrying symptoms should make an appointment with a health care professional.

Barbara is currently starring as Anne Lloyd in BBC's Beyond Paradise.

The crime drama is a spin-off of the beloved series Death in Paradise and sees Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton at the helm.

This season, Anne ventured into the realm of online dating.

However, calamity ensued when she found out that her romantic interest, Richard Baxter (portrayed by Peter Davison), was already wedded.