My bright light...

Wife and friends’ tributes after death of Dawson’s Creek actor

- BY JASMINE ALLDAY

Friend Erin clasps James's hand at his bedside; right, with Katie in TV show

DAWSON'S Creek star James Van Der Beek was joined by some of his closest friends in his final weeks, who would hold his hand at his hospice bedside.

The actor died after a public battle with colorectal cancer on Wednesday at the age of 48, with his wife Kimberley saying she had lost her “bright light”.

Katie Holmes, 47, his costar in the teen TV drama, paid tribute to him, saying: “James, thank you. To share space with your imagination is sacred — breathing the same air in the land of make-believe and trusting each other’s hearts are safe in their expression.