Damian Lewis paid tribute to his late wife Helen McCrory on Tuesday night with an emotional poetry performance dedicated to the actress.

He was joined by friends and family for a night of poetry at the National Theatre in his late wife's honor, Daily Mail reports.

As well as marking the first time Lewis has spoken publicly about his grief, the show also featured a recording of McCrory reading at a previous event.

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The Harry Potter and Peaky Blinders actress passed away from breast cancer last April. She was 52 years old.

Homeland star Lewis, 50, invited friends and colleagues including Simon Russell Beale, Lesley Sharp, Fay Ripley, and Danny Sapani to read alongside him in the show, which was based on poetry advocate Allie Esiri's latest anthology A Poet For Every Day Of The Year.

Lewis began by delivering a heartfelt tribute to his wife of 14 years, saying: "This evening is dedicated to her and it's perfect because Helen loved the National Theatre."

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"One person whose thunder would absolutely not be stolen was Helen McCrory," he told the 900-strong audience, which included him and McCrory's 15-year-old daughter Manon and 14-year-old son Gulliver.

Lewis then handed over to his wife's friends and colleagues, who performed a collection of poems from Esiri's anthology, and his wife, who was heard reading poetry at a previous event in a particularly poignant moment.

Finally, Lewis retook the stage and gave an emotional final reading of Everything Is Going To Be All Right by Irish poet Derek Mahon.

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Speaking about the memorial event, Esiri said: "We dedicated the evening to Helen, and Damian said a few words, but we just wanted to get on and do the show. It's what she would have told us to do – 'OK, enough already, get on with the show!'"

"She loved poetry and I think she would have been pleased to be kind of here with us. It felt right," Esiri added.

McCrory was one of the UK's most successful and beloved actresses, known for playing Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and matriarch Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders.

She was appointed an OBE in the 2017 New Year Honours for her services to the dramatic arts.

Featured Image Credit: Doug Peters / Alamy

Damian Lewis speaks for first time on tragic death of 'perfect' wife Helen McCrory