Life at Colyton Grammar

Maddy Anholt (OC 2006) was an actress and comedian. Last year, after the birth of her daughter, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Sadly, she passed away at the age of 35 in September 2023.

Maddy was an actor and comedian, and had appeared on numerous television shows including BBC Three’s ‘Sunny D’ and ITV’s ‘The Emily Atack Show’, and appeared as a panelist on ‘This Morning’. She took her one women show ‘Diary of a Dating Addict’ to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015, and in 2017, she had her own BBC radio comedy entitled ‘No Smoke’. She was a regular guest on BBC Radio 2, and had written for a multitude of national publications including The Guardian, and was a motivational speaker. Her debut fiction novel ‘Red Flags’ is due to be published next year.

A campaigner against domestic abuse, she worked closely as an ambassador with the charity Women’s Aid and last year, she published her own book ‘How to Escape Your Pyschopath: The Essential Handbook for Escaping a Toxic Relationship’ which looks at coercive control and abusive relationships. The book recieved critical acclaim and attention across the globe. It is described as ‘a candid account of the bizarre and frightening world of coercive control and abusive relationships from a woman who, until her eyes were opened, had spent her entire dating life trapped in them’ .