Naylor, who appeared in CBBC shows Millie Inbetween and Almost Never, died on Sunday 7 April. CBBC said she was a “much-loved part of the BBC Children’s family and a hugely talented actress, singer, and dancer”. South London assistant coroner Toby Watkin said the actress was found dead in a marquee at her family home in South Norwood. Emergency services were called to an address on reports of a teenage girl in cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead at Croydon University Hospital shortly afterward. The inquest heard she was found hanged. She had spent the evening before her death watching a film with her family and had been planning for the future. Her family said she had been grounded and stopped from going to a party and had some worries about her GCSE results being worse than expected but added nothing had suggested she wanted to take her own life.
The coroner said Naylor had no alcohol or drugs in her system and her father Martin Naylor added he had seen her two hours before she was found, and felt it was “a spur of the moment” act and she had not intended to kill herself. He told South London Coroners Court: “I honestly believe she was just making some sort of point. “I genuinely believe she did not mean to do it.” Searches of her phones, laptop, and social media accounts did not present anything suspicious. Following her death in April, A&J Management said they would “miss her greatly”. CBBC announced the news of her death on its website, where young fans shared their memories of the actress.
Tributes have been paid to the teenager, who starred as Fran in two series of Millie Inbetween, about two sisters whose parents have split up, and Mya in Almost Never, about a fictional boyband and rival girl group Girls Here First. Naylor played the lead singer of the girl band and said in a recent interview that she’d always wanted to sing as well as act. She also said she had some “amazing projects” coming up soon, including another series of Almost Never. Naylor’s screen debut came as a toddler when she appeared in Absolutely Fabulous as Saffy’s daughter Jane. She also had the title role in the ITV series Tati’s Hotel. Her film roles included Miro in Cloud Atlas, alongside Halle Berry and Tom Hanks.
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