Stars we sadly lost in 2017

We lost some amazing people

Liz Dawn / Bruce Forsyth / Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 22nd Dec 2017

As 2017 draws to a close we take a look back at some of the famous faces we sadly lost this year, from the original 'It' girl, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson to Bruce Forsyth, and restaurant owner Antonio Carluccio to Keith Chegwin who died earlier this month.

2017 was the year we said "goodbye" to some TV soap opera greats, including Roy Barraclough who was best known for playing Alec Gilroy in the TV soap Coronation Street and Liz Dawn who played Vera Duckworth in the same show.

We also lost some fantastic actors including James Bond actor Roger Moore and John Heard, famous for his parts in Christmas films Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, amongst others.

In the world of music we lost Robert Miles, the DJ who bought us 'Children' in the mid-90s and rock singers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington.

See our gallery of the stars we lost in 2017:

Graham Taylor (died age 72)

Former English football player, manager, Graham Taylor died on the 12 January aged 72.

Miguel Ferrer (died age 61)

American actor Miguel Ferrer was known for his role in the original RoboCop film in 1987, in more recent years he had parts in Iron Man 3 and NCIS: Los Angeles. He died on the 19th January aged 61.

Gorden Kaye (died age 75)

British actor Gorden Kaye was best known for playing the role of René Artois in the 1980s series Allo! Allo! He passed away at the age of 75 on the 23rd January 2017.

Sir John Hurt (died age 77)

British actor Sir John Hurt was an actor for more than 50 years. He was known for an array of roles including astronaut Kane in the film Alien and the War Doctor in BBC TV series Doctor Who in 2013. Sir John died on the 25th January 2017, aged 77.

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson (died age 45)

The original 'It girl', Tara Palmer-Tomkinson died from a perforated ulcer on the 8th February at the age of just 45.

Joni Sledge (died age 60)

Joni was one of the family group, Sister Sledge, and sadly died of natural causes on 10th March 2017 at the age of 60. Sister Sledge were known for their hits 'We Are Family' and 'He's The Greatest Dancer'.

Ugo Ehiogu (died age 44)

Ugo was an English professional footballer, he then became the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team. Ugo died from a cardiac arrest on the 21st April.

Chris Cornell (died age 52)

The Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog singer was a distinguished solo artist in his own right. He died at the age of 52 on the 18th May.

Sir Roger Moore (died age 89)

British actor Sir Roger Moore was best known for playing James Bond. He passed away on the 23rd May after a brief battle with cancer.

Roy Barraclough (died age 81)

Actor Roy Barraclough was best known for playing Alec Gilroy in the TV soap Coronation Street. He died on the 1st June following a short illness.

Peter Sallis (died age 96)

Peter Sallis was a well-known actor and voicing the part of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit.

Michael Bond (died age 91)

Best known for writing Paddington Bear, Michael Bond's career spanned 59 years.

Barry Norman (died age 83)

Barry Norman was a British film critic, journalist and television presenter, he was the longest-running host of Film… on BBC 1 between 1972 and 1998.

Chester Bennington (died age 41)

Chester was the lead singer of rock band Linkin Park, the band was known for their hits such as 'What I've Done' and 'Numb'.

John Heard (died age 71)

Actor John Heard has featured in a number of films including playing the part of Peter McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Bruce Forsyth (died age 89)

Bruce was known by many generations as a TV presenter who started his career in 1958. His work included hosting the Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right and most recently Strictly Come Dancing until 2013.

Sean Hughes (died age 51)

Comedian Sean Hughes was known for his own Channel 4 show Sean's Show and being a regular team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Tom Petty (died age 66)

Tom Petty was lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which formed in 1976. He sadly died on the 2nd October.

Liz Dawn (died age 77)

Liz famously played the role of Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street starting in 1974 up until 2012 with a couple of short breaks.

Hugh Hefner (died age 91)

Hugh Hefner founded the Playboy brand in 1953 and was editor-in-chief of the magazine. He died at this home in Los Angeles.

Malcolm Young (died age 64)

Co-founder and guitarist in the band rock band AC/DC, Malcolm and the other members of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. He died on the 18th November in Australia.

Antonio Carluccio (died age 80)

Italian chef and restaurateur, Antonio opened Carluccio's food shop and restaurant in 1991.

Keith Chegwin (died age 60)

TV presenter Keith was known in the 70s and 80s for Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and Cheggers Plays Pop, more recently he also took part in Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity MasterChef, both in 2015.
Keith died after a long illness on the 11th December.