Deon Stewardson (11 October 1951 – 27 October 2017) was a British-South African actor best known for his role as Anders "Dup" Du Plessis in the ITV Drama series '' Wild at Heart''. The seven series were popular in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with television viewing figures between 7.5 million and 10 million. The last series was filmed in 2011 with a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Special. He worked alongside many well known actors including

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...

. Stewardson and his partner Marianne would live in the

Hartbeespoort Dam Hartbeespoort Dam (also known as ''Harties'') is an arch type dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It lies in a valley to the south of the Magaliesberg mountain range and north of the Witwatersberg mountain range, about 35 ki ...

area of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during the six months of filming. He had a passion for wildlife and his character known as "Dup" worked perfectly for him. As well as this role, he taken a number of minor roles in many different genres, including ''The Foster Gang''. Stewardson has also starred in films, most notably ''Lethal Woman''. Deon was the son of

n actor

Joe Stewardson Joe Stewardson was a South African film actor.Database (undated)"Stewardson, Joe" ''The British Film Institute Film and Television Database''. Accessed 12 August 2010. Career Partial filmography * '' All the Way to Paris'' (1965) * '' Wil ...

and elder brother of Matthew Stewardson who appeared in Idols South Africa (season 1)

Death

On the morning of 28 October 2017, a local outlet reported Stewardson had been found dead in the bathroom at a

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet (; Xhosa: eRhafu) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province and the fourth oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The to ...

accommodation establishment the previous afternoon, with police confirming it as

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Stewardson is survived by his partner Marianne Meijer, sister Sheryl and half siblings Joanne and Sean. By his request, there was no funeral, and his family and friends arranged a 'get-together' to remember him on the day of his direct cremation. Stewardson never married or had children and regretted not doing so.https://aberdeencape.org/tragic-death-of-well-known-actor-deon-stewardson/ , Tragic death of well-known actor Deon Stewardson

Selected Filmography

References

1951 births 2017 deaths 2017 suicides South African male television actors South African male film actors Suicides in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-actor-stub