Virgin River’s Lynda Boyd opens up on how Lilly’s season 3 storyline hit close to home: “I didn’t want to go back there”
**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR VIRGIN RIVER SEASON THREE**
Those who've binged the whole of Virgin River's third season will know that the small Californian town loses much-loved resident Lilly in episode eight and, while the death is undoubtedly heart-breaking for viewers, filming proved to be even tougher for Lynda Boyd, who plays the character on the show.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Boyd revealed that she found her character's death from late stage pancreatic cancer incredibly difficult to face after losing her own siblings to cancer.
"I had a call from the producers, a conference call, and they're like, 'We're so excited for your storyline for season three – you're going to get cancer and die.'
"And I was sitting there at my end and going, 'Oh. Cancer. Cool.' I lost two siblings to cancer and I just didn't want to go back there and feel those feelings anymore, but it ended up being some really good writing for Lilly."
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Boyd added that the scenes in which Lilly revealed her terminal diagnosis proved to be even more intense for her as she'd known her co-stars – Nicola Cavendish (Connie), Gwynyth Walsh (Jo Ellen) and Teryl Rothery (Muriel) – for an incredibly long time.
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"What's lovely is all those women in the stitch and b***h circle – I pretend to knit because I can't knit – but all those women are my friends in real life. I've known Teryl [Rothery], who plays Muriel, since I was 14 years old. Her and I used to take tap dancing lessons together, so standing up before them and telling them what a wonderful life I've had and how much it meant to me – they were all bawling.
"That was real. It was almost like rehearsing for that day when I had to tell people I was dying, you know what I mean? It was hard but I think it might help people in some way, for anyone else who's going through that, losing a loved one."
"I learned my lines like they were the alphabet... so once I got the lines out of the way, I never thought about the C word again and I thought, 'I'll just see what happens when I'm talking to Jim Matheson's character Doc or when I'm talking to Mel [played by Alexandra Breckenridge] – and of course, I didn't have to do any work. It was so hard to say those words. Very cathartic."
Virgin River seasons 1-3 are available to stream on Netflix. Check out our lists of the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix – or see what else is on with our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
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