Family of actor Tony Mathews say they were given “no time to say goodbye” as inquest into his death concludes in Kent

In her closing remarks, Coroner Sarah Clarke told Maidstone Coroner’s Court that clinicians had been “perplexed” by Tony’s sudden death from a bleed in his abdomen known as an intraperitoneal haemorrhage and cardiac shock.

During the hearing, lawyers for Tony’s family raised concerns that some of the evidence given by staff at the Trust during the inquest went against both previous statements that were made and the findings of the serious incident report they commissioned.

Tony was born in Chichester, West Sussex in 1942 and had been living in Ramsgate, Kent before he died, leaving behind his wife of fifty years, Narissa, two sons, Kent and Eliot, and four young grandchildren.

His acting career spanned more than five decades. On screen, Tony was known for his roles in some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, including The Bill, Poirot, The Governor and Inspector Morse. He had starring roles on stage, which included creating the part of Frederick Fellows in the first production of Noises Off at the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End.

In a pen portrait, his wife Narissa recalled Tony’s love of reading, cricket and bridge and said he “lit up all our lives – we will always miss him”. She said the sudden circumstances of Tony’s death left his family with “no time to say goodbye”.

Tony died on Saturday 16 December 2023 at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (QEQMH), Margate, Kent following colostomy reversal surgery.

The inquest was heard at Kent and Medway Coroners Court, Oakwood House, Maidstone from Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 March 2025.

It heard evidence from Tony’s surgeon, a pathologist, a gastroenterologist who specialises in treating polyps, a haematologist, a biomedical scientist from a QEQMH laboratory and a critical care nurse from East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

It also heard from an expert who helped compile an independent report into Tony’s death for the Trust. This serious incident report acknowledged that Tony should have been taken back to theatre to investigate the unresolving low blood pressure and low haemoglobin.

On Wednesday 4 March 2025, Coroner Sarah Clarke concluded that on 13 December 2023, Tony underwent an elective stoma reversal, and that the operation was uneventful. Post-surgery, he suffered an abdominal bleed known as an intraperitoneal haemorrhage. The coroner said that the bleeding was likely exacerbated by the administration of anti-coagulant treatment, correctly given for his atrial fibrillation and that despite showing signs of improvement, Tony was found dead on 16 December, as a result of a cardiac shock.

In a statement, Tony’s son, Kent said:

“My Dad, Tony Mathews was a loving father, and a talented actor and painter.

“He was a sharp, funny man and his energy always lit up a room. Even at the end he was making jokes with doctors from what we now realise was his death bed.

“The family are very thankful to the court and to our lawyer for all their work to find out what happened to him and come to a conclusion about how and why he died.

“It has been a thorough investigation, and we now have some closure, which is what we hoped for.

“Rest in peace, Dad.”

Frankie Rhodes, a senior associate solicitor of law firm Leigh Day represents Tony’s family and said:

“Tony’s family are satisfied that the coroner conducted a full investigation into his death and note that she did acknowledge he should have been transferred to the surgical ward at an earlier stage, and there was also a missed opportunity to activate the Major Haemorrhage Protocol when he was deteriorating on the morning of 15 December.

“The coroner concluded that she could not rule out that Tony was suffering from an ongoing slow bleed. The family do have some questions about the rationale for the bleed being deemed an old bleed and why active bleeding was excluded. I was surprised to hear the pathologist say that the 3 litres of blood found in Tony’s abdomen was one of the largest collections of blood he had seen.

“It is a matter of record that some of the evidence given by staff at the Trust during the inquest went against both previous statements that were made and also the findings of the serious incident report they commissioned.

“I felt very pleased to be able to support Tony’s family through the inquest process and allow them to seek some closure about what happened to lead to the unexpected death of a much-loved husband, father and grandfather.”

Counsel for the family is Daniel Laking of 39 Essex Chambers.