Stephen Graham reveals heartbreaking family news as he dedicates his OBE to his beloved mum

STEPHEN Graham has revealed his beloved mum has died.

The Bafta nominated actor, 49, announced the news on Twitter today in a touching post in which he dedicated his OBE to her after being named in the New Year’s Honours list.

Alongside a collection of pictures of the pair from his childhood, Stephen said: “This incredible, inspirational, woman & the purest heart my mum passed away. Her words as a child ‘no one is above you and no one is below you all are equal’ have remained with me throughout my life. I feel so honoured and proud to share this with her. An OBE for both of us mum.”

The Matilda and This Is England star fondly opened up on his upbringing in a Square Mile interview with friend and Help co-star Jodie Comer.

He said: “Me and my mum lived with my nana for a while, I used to literally walk round the corner to go to school. In those big family situations there’s vying for attention, isn’t there? My thing was I used to do silly voices, stuff like that.

“But the best way for me to be able to stay up and watch Starsky & Hutch and Match of the Day was to make nana a jam butty and a cup of tea.

“Nana used to have these big thick doorstopper jam butties. I used to bring her them and she’d go, ‘go on lad, sit down. D’ya want to watch Starsky & Hutch?’ I have these lovely memories – sitting in the chair with her, sitting on the floor by her feet. I’ve got an image of legs with tights on, fluffy slippers. We watched all kinds of things like Parkinson, black and white films, musicals. She was a big part of my love for film, subconsciously.”

Stephen’s tribute to his mum was met with an outpouring of love.

Actress Hayley Tamaddon wrote: “Sending huge love [heart emojis].”

There were also numerous tributes from people who worked with his late mum, all saying how much they adored her.

While a fan posted: “So very sorry for your loss. Condolences to you and your family.”