Nicholas Lyndhurst's famous son's tragic death that left star 'utterly grief stricken'

legend Nicholas Lyndhurst was left devastated after the sudden death of his teenage son Archie, who died aged just 19 following what was initially described as a "short illness." The young actor, best known for his breakout role in CBBC's So Awkward, was found dead at the family's west London home on September 22, 2020. At the time, Archie's death was treated as "unexplained but not suspicious," leaving fans and loved ones reeling.

It wasn't until nearly four months later that the family finally learned the heartbreaking truth - Archie had died from a brain haemorrhage caused by a rare form of leukaemia. In January 2021, after the inquest was dropped, Archie's mum Lucy took to Instagram to share the family's pain and to explain the shocking medical diagnosis. She wrote: "He died from an Intracerebral Haemorrhage caused by Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma/Leukaemia. This is not Leukaemia as we know it, the word Acute in medical terms means rapid."

Lucy added that doctors reassured them that Archie had shown no symptoms and would not have felt any pain.

"He assured us that there wasn't anything anyone could have done as Archie showed no signs of illness. Archie had numerous bleeds on the brain and the doctor went to great lengths to reassure us that he wouldn't have been in any pain as it happened in his sleep."

She continued: "The results utterly floored us to think something like this could happen. It's very rare and around only 800 people a year die from it."

Archie's death sent shockwaves through the entertainment world as they mourned a rising star following in his father's footsteps who was tipped for a major future in acting.

As well as finding success on So Awkward he had also fallen in love with his co-star Nethra Tilakumara.

In her post, Lucy revealed Archie had spent his final days celebrating an early birthday with Nethra. "Only days before [his death] he'd been with the love of his life Nethra celebrating his birthday early as she was due to go away with work commitments. Life is fragile, precious, and sometimes incredibly cruel."

She also recalled one of their final conversations: "He looked at me with his huge blue soulful eyes, shook his head, and said, 'All the world needs is love mama, it's so easy to love'."

The tragedy had a "catastrophic effect" on the Lyndhurst family, with Nicholas said to be "utterly grief stricken." The actor has remained largely out of the spotlight since the loss but recently appeared in the Fraiser reboot.

According to a source at the time, one of the people offering constant support was his longtime Only Fools and Horses co-star,

"Despite no longer being on screen together, David and Nick remain very close. So, as soon as David became aware of what had happened to Archie, he was in touch with Nick.

"He's been in regular touch ever since and - like everyone else who cares for Nick and his family - is just trying to provide whatever support he can. Nick's heart is broken, and David is doing all he can to support him."