Soap stars Charley Webb and her brother Jamie Lomas have announced the loss of their beloved mother, Helen Webb.
Helen tragically died on Mother’s Day after a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s.
Emmerdale actress Charley, 38, and Hollyoaks‘ Jamie, 50, took to Instagram on Sunday to pay tribute to their ‘beautiful’ mum.
Jamie said it felt like he had lost his mother twice, due to her battle with the ‘awful illness’, Alzheimer’s, a progressive, irreversible brain disease and the most common cause of dementia.
He wrote: ‘Sadly we lost our beautiful mum today on Mother’s Day.
‘After a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s, she finally decided it was time to leave us. For anyone who knows what it’s like to have someone with this awful illness, you will know that you lose them not once but twice.
‘Our mum was always so strong and to watch her over the years slowly turn into someone who is just a shell of who they once were is very difficult to take and watch.
Soap stars Charley Webb and her brother Jamie Lomas have announced the loss of their beloved mother, Helen Webb (Charley and her mother pictured)
Helen tragically died on Mother’s Day after a 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s
The heartbroken actor, 50, took to Instagram on Sunday to pay tribute to his ‘beautiful’ mum Helen Webb
‘You are now at peace mum and we love you and we will miss you so so much. You were the first person to love me before the world even knew I existed.
‘Goodnight mum R I P.
‘I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful staff who cared for her on a daily basis and for those who helped her in some way. You truly are all amazing people.’
Charley added: ‘My beautiful Mum left us today on Mother’s Day. 15/03/2026. The past twelve years were stolen from us, that’s the only way to describe this feeling. “The long goodbye”.
‘Thank you to everyone for all of your support, especially everyone that’s looked after her so well for the last 3 years. And to all of my closest people, I couldn’t live without you’.
A whole host of their soap stars took to the comment section to share their condolences.
Brooke Vincent wrote: ‘Sending you all of my love Jamie’.
Meanwhile, fellow Hollyoaks star Anthony Quinn said: ‘Gutted for you all. Sending you so much love! Helen was a wonderful woman, one of the best! I always enjoyed seeing her and having a laugh. Rest easy, always here for you brother’.
Charley added: ‘My beautiful Mum left us today on Mother’s Day. 15/03/2026. The past twelve years were stolen from us, that’s the only way to describe this feeling. The long goodbye’
Jamie said it felt like he had lost his mother twice, due to her battle with the ‘awful illness’, Alzheimer’s as he shared photos of her with fans
A whole host of Jamie and Charley’s soap star pals took to the comment section to share their condolences
Nikki Sanderson added: ‘Sending you so much love to you and your family. If you need anything we are here for you xxx’.
Last month, Charley bravely opened up about their mum’s devastating battle with early-onset dementia – and the struggle she had to get her diagnosed at the age of just 64.
Charley, who is best known for her portrayal of Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale, explained that when her mum Helen forgot an important piece of personal information – which she did not disclose – she knew that something was seriously wrong.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: ‘She was 64 and she got the diagnosis. But of course, the symptoms come before that. You know, it takes time.
‘She actually forgot something quite huge, which is quite a personal thing, and I just knew in that moment it was something that she wouldn’t have forgotten.
‘I think everyone around me at the time was like, you’re being dramatic, everything’s fine. I was like, “No, something is not right.”‘
On the Mail’s The Life of Bryony podcast, Charley explained why she chose to share Helen’s dementia battle after keeping it private for so long.
She explained she had been motivated to speak out in order to do more for Alzheimer’s charities, and also because she knew how isolating it could be.
She said: ‘I felt selfish not talking about it because I knew how alone I’d felt, so I thought if I can just do a little bit more for the charity, I really want to do that.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone as when that diagnosis happened.’
While the actress also described how she was conflicted about keeping it secret, as she knew her mother wouldn’t want it public.
Charley said: ‘My mum was all about makeup and being glamorous and I just felt like I wanted to protect her privacy. Even though she wouldn’t have known that it was being spoken about, I think in in the back of my mind, I was like she would hate this.
‘To be honest, I still don’t think I’ve processed it. They say that you grieve when they’re here and you grieve when they’re gone’.
