Tributes have been paid to actor Natalia Dontcheva, best known for starring in the French remake of Doc Martin.

The Bulgarian national, 56, played Julie Derville in the spin-off series from 2011 to 2015. Throughout her career, she also featured in films including Premonition, Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquieres) and Sashinka.

Paying tribute on Instagram, her stepson and film producer, Hugo Selignac, said she was “finally going to rest” following a decade-long “battle”.

Writing in French alongside a headshot of Dontcheva, he wrote: “I never liked the title ‘stepmother’ – because when we met, I was no longer a child, and I’d already had a stepmother before.

“But you have no idea what a truly beautiful person I found you to be, or how deeply I loved who you were. Thank you for the bond you fought so hard to nurture within our family.

“Thank you for the confidence you instilled in me by always looking at me with pride, ever since my teenage years.”

He went on to write about her relationship with his director father Arnaud Selignac, with whom the actress had been in a relationship for 25 years.

“Thank you for helping our dad be a better one, but most of all thank you for caring for him for 25 years, thank you for admiring, caring, supporting, forgiving and most of all loving passionately,” he added.

Concluding the statement and hinting at her illness, Selignac wrote: “After a 10-year battle, you are finally going to rest. Enjoy it to the fullest; it’s been so long since you’ve had that chance. I will miss you, my beautiful Natalia.”

After moving to France to study acting, Dontcheva was cast in the French remake of Doc Martin, appearing in 26 episodes of the TF1 adaptation.

Her co-star Tatiana Gousseff also shared a tribute on Instagram, posting a photo she had taken of the actress while they were filming the medical drama in Brittany.

She wrote: “I always kept my film Nikon close at hand; over four seasons, I snapped away endlessly. How we laughed! What wonderful memories! And how I loved seeing you on stage later in the magnificent role of Dorothy Parker. I hear you’re gone. I am speechless.”