Riders star Marcus Gilbert has passed away aged 67 following a three-year battle with throat cancer.
The Bristol-born actor, who was most famous for playing the swoonsome Rupert Campbell-Black in a 1993 TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Riders, passed away on Sunday. He is survived by his two children, son Maxi and daughter Aaliya.
A fan site for Marcus, who was recently in a relationship with Lysette Anthony, shared the news on Facebook, in a statement reading: ‘Today we have heard the very sad news that Marcus lost his battle against cancer on Sunday 11th January 2026…
‘We, along with his many fans worldwide, will mourn his loss, and remember the joy he gave us on screen, and in person. RIP Marcus.’
Marcus’s daughter revealed in 2020 that her famous father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the same time as his wife Homaa’s battle with pancreatic cancer. Homaa passed away in 2020 after 28 years of marriage.
Tributes poured in for the star with fans writing: ‘Gone home, in the arms of the angels and Homaa⊠Oh my goodness. RIP Marcus… So so sad.. Such sad news…
Riders star Marcus Gilbert has passed away aged 67 following a cancer battle (pictured with co-star Annabel Giles in the 1993 show)
Marcus is pictured with his partner and former co-star Lysette Anthony
Adding to the tributes was actor Toby Hadoke, who shared a trio of images and added the caption: ‘Dashing, charming, and a strong actor with a bit of a twinkle’
Adding to the tributes was actor Toby Hadoke, who shared a trio of images and added the caption: ‘Dashing, charming, and a strong actor with a bit of a twinkle…
‘Very sorry to learn of the death, too young, of Marcus Gilbert with whom I had a lovely time in Liverpool about a decade ago…
‘He was also great in Doctor Whoâs Battlefield and had a terrific role in Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness…
‘He also told me how much he earned from being part of the second Gold Blend saga of commercials: eye watering! Lovely chap: wore his attributes lightly. :(‘.
Following his role as Ancelyn in the Doctor Who television story Battlefield, the programme’s showrunner Russell T Davies paid tribute himself, writing underneath Toby’s post: ‘Oh thatâs sad news’.
Marcus’s doctor wife Homaa, with whom he shared his two children, passed away in 2020 after undergoing an operation to remove pancreatic cancer, leading to complications and a five-week stay in an Intensive Therapy Unit.
He said of her death: ‘I wasnât prepared to be involved with anyone after my wife. Homaa, which means bird of paradise in Urdu, had the ability to laugh…
Marcus is pictured with his late wife Homaa on their wedding day
Marcus is pictured with Lysette when they starred together in A Ghost In Monte Carlo in 1990 – 23 years before becoming a couple
Marcus is survived by his two children, son Maximilian (pictured last year) and daughter Aaliya
Marcus is pictured with his beloved daughter Aaliya last year
Marcus is pictured in a steamy scene with Riders co-star Cecile Paoli
Following his role as Ancelyn in the Doctor Who television story Battlefield, the programme’s showrunner Russell T Davies paid tribute himself, writing underneath Toby’s post: ‘Oh thatâs sad news’
‘It was an intoxicating, tireless laugh. I couldnât imagine loving anyone else, which is why I wasnât prepared. There was no one remarkable enough in my eyes,â
Marcus’s passing comes after he found love with Lysette – hailed as the ‘face of the 1980s’ by photographer David Bailey – 33 years after they first kissed on-screen.
At the time it was revealed that twice-divorced Lysette fell ‘head over heels’.
A friend of the actress, whose last divorce was back in 2003, revealed at the time: ‘It’s a serious romance and has been going on for some time. They make an adorable couple. Lysette is head over heels with him.’
On social media Lysette posted pictures of the two of them together.
In May 2023 she intercut stills of them kissing in the 1990 film A Ghost In Monte Carlo – based on a 1951 Barbara Cartland potboiler which she starred in when she was 26 – with pictures of them together now.
She captioned the Instagram post: ‘My Forever Love.’
The handsome star was made famous for his role in the bonkbuster
The couple came to be after Marcus was informed that Lysette had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease: âThree years after I lost my wife, I wasnât looking for anyone, but a close friend said: âDid you hear about Lysette?â…
‘I couldnât imagine such a free-spirited person as her having Parkinsonâs.
âIâve never remembered much about our affair on that film but what I do remember is every single word I said to her on set in that church when my character was marrying hers. Itâs a Barbara Cartland film so itâs a bit naff, but I was saying, âMy darlingâ and staring into those huge blue eyes.
âWhen I said, âI will love you and cherish you for the rest of my life,â I said it with great heart. So, when I heard she had Parkinsonâs, I wrote to her agent. I remembered her vibrancy, her joy of life. I wanted to help in any way I could.
âThat Christmas, I now know was terrible for her but it was terrible for me, too. I spent Christmas night alone and saw two shop assistants between Christmas evening and New Yearâs Eve.
Marcus’s passing comes after he found love with Lysette – hailed as the ‘face of the 1980s’ by photographer David Bailey – 33 years after they first kissed on-screen in A Ghost In Monte Carlo
âAfter a number of really engaging calls, Lysette left a message that was eight-and-a-half minutes long â short for her,â he adds with a smile that crinkles at his eyes.
âIt moved me because it was from a lady who was emotionally open. That honesty, that truth, was pure and simple. It was undeniable.
âSheâs a pretty wonderful lady who has been somewhat battered and thereâs residual damage, but I have patience. I have faith. I have a lot of belief in her.â
Lysette previously detailed their first meeting, saying: ‘He walks in and heâs wearing a corduroy suit â crumpled, gorgeous. We sit and talk. Six hours later weâre still talking.â Her face lights up as it does in the photographs on set all those years ago.
âHe told me heâd been so happily married for 28 years. He told me about his children â his daughter is a junior doctor, his son has been working in prisons.
âI was so, so sorry for him about his wife. Over the years Iâd thought: âWhatâs happened to Marcus?â Then I heard heâd married a doctor and was so very happy. I thought: âWell done you.â
On social media Lysette posted pictures of the two of them together
âHeâs had to deal with things, too. He loved his wife so very much so there was guilt. But heâs had a 28-year marriage with two remarkable children, which is the biggest mark of success.â
âWhen he was diagnosed with cancer in March things got very real. To watch someone suffer like that . . . All I did the first day he was in hospital was cry, but Marcus is ridiculously brave. He wants to get well and we want to live.
âI might be damaged, but he has faith in me. He tells me Iâm beautiful and, for the first time in my life, Iâm going to be that person.’
Lysette and Marcus first worked together on A Ghost In Monte Carlo in 1990.
Marcus also starred in the likes of Rambo III and Doctor Who, and was considered for the role of James Bond in the late 1980s, but lost out to Timothy Dalton.
Throughout his career, he made over 50 commercials, including one for Lee Jeans called Mean Jeans, directed by Willi Patterson, which won the best cinema commercial award in 1986.
