Kate Beckinsale keeps her father Richard's memory alive by watching his old sitcoms.

Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale

The 45-year-old star - whose famous father died aged 31 from a congenital heart defect when Kate was just five - has revealed her mum Judy still has "a million videos" of him, and she loves showing her own daughter Lily clips from the likes of 'Porridge' and 'Rising Damp'.

Speaking in the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "She has my father Richard Beckinsale's 'This Is Your Life' book from his appearance on the show with Eamonn Andrews in 1977, which is really cool. That's a lovely thing to have. We also have like a million old video tapes, which we can't watch unless we find a video player. She's a pretty good custodian of all of that stuff.

"The sitcoms my dad was in are, of course, extremely important to me. It's also nice to show some of it to my daughter Lily. My mum keeps everything. Not just about my career, things that give you a little bit of a window into who you were. It's fascinating."

Earlier this month, Kate marked the 40th anniversary of the death of her father with a touching tribute.

Posting on Instagram, Kate wrote: "40 years is a lot of missing. Thank you so much to everyone who has been kind. Lots of love xx #march19 (sic)"

Kate often posts on social media on the anniversary of her father's passing, and two years ago she revealed her dad's best friend had been sending her flowers every year since Richard's death.

She wrote: "My dad's best friend has sent my mum and me flowers on the day he died every single year since.

"He has been sending flowers for more years than my dad lived. It's today. With love and awe at humans rescuing other humans, and that love really does never die, thank you ... and love to everyone who is missing someone."


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