Riders star Marcus Gilbert dies: Rupert Campbell-Black actor passes away following cancer battle aged 67... two years after finding love with co-star Lysette Anthony

Riders star Marcus Gilbert has passed away aged 67 following a cancer battle. 

The 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 and 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 stetement 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' daughter revealed in 2020 that the star had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the same time as his wife Homaa's battle with pancreatic cancer. She 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...

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 Who’s 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 himseld, writing underneath Toby's post: 'Oh that’s sad news'. 

Marcus' doctor wife Homaa, with whom he shared his two children, passed away in 2020 after undergoing an operation to remove pancreatic cancer, leading to compliations and a five week stay in an Intensive Therapy Unit. 

Marcus' passing comes after he found love with his Riders co-star 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, 59, 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.'

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.