Celia Imrie | |
|---|---|
 Imrie in 2011 | |
| Born | Cecilia Diana Savile Imrie (1952-07-15)15 July 1952 (age 73) |
| Education | Guildford High School;Guildford School of Acting |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Partner | Benjamin Whitrow[1] |
| Children | Angus Imrie |
Celia Diana Savile ImrieCBE (born 15 July 1952[2][3][4]) is a British actress. She is best known for her film roles, including theBridget Jones film series (2001, 2004, 2016, 2025),Calendar Girls (2005),Nanny McPhee (2005),St Trinian's (2007),The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011),The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015),A Cure for Wellness (2016),Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), andThe Thursday Murder Club (2025). She appeared in theFX seriesBetter Things (2016–2022) and theNetflix seriesThe Diplomat (2023–present).
Imrie is also known for her frequent collaborations with actress and comedianVictoria Wood. In 2006, she won anOlivier Award forBest Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical inAcorn Antiques:The Musical!. Imrie was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
Imrie was born on 15 July 1952 inGuildford,Surrey,[5][6] the fourth of five children of Dr. David Andrew Imrie, aradiologist fromGlasgow, Scotland,[7][8] and Diana Elizabeth Imrie,née Cator. Her mother was a granddaughter ofSir John Ralph Blois, 8th Baronet, from an oldSuffolk family.[9] Imrie was educated atGuildford High School, an independent school for girls in her home town of Guildford, followed by theGuildford School of Acting.[10]
Imrie's film credits include the mischievous Mrs. Selma Quickly inNanny McPhee,Iris du Pré inHilary and Jackie, Homily Clock in the 1997 filmThe Borrowers,House of Whipcord,Bridget Jones's Diary,Calendar Girls,Highlander and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Imrie played Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 inStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,[11] Matron inSt Trinian's (2007), Claudia Bing inAbsolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), Victoria Watkins inA Cure for Wellness (2016), Bif inFinding Your Feet (2017), Vice-Chancellor inMamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Mimi inLove Sarah (2020), Imelda inGood Grief (2024) and Joyce inThe Thursday Murder Club (2025).[12]
Imrie's television credits include the original 1970s series ofUpstairs, Downstairs;Bergerac;The Nightmare Man;Oranges are not the only Fruit;Casualty;Absolutely Fabulous; andThe Darling Buds of May.[12] She also played Vera inA Dark-Adapted Eye (1994) byRuth Rendell.
She first worked with Victoria Wood in the 1980s onVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV, which included the popular sketchAcorn Antiques. In 1994, she reunited with Wood in the television filmPat and Margaret, and later appeared inDinnerladies from 1998 to 1999.[12]
Imrie's other roles includeStill Game,Cloud Howe,Taggart,[13] andBlue Black Permanent (1992).[14]
In 2000, she played Lady Gertrude inGormenghast,[12] while, in 2001, she was in Love in a Cold Climate withAlan Bates. In 2002, she played Mrs Violet Pearman toAlbert Finney'sChurchill inThe Gathering Storm. She appeared in theBBC television dramaMr. Harvey Lights a Candle (2005), appeared oppositeNicholas Lyndhurst in the BBCsitcomAfter You've Gone (2007–2008),[12] oppositeStephen Fry in theITV1 dramaKingdom,[15] and withJudi Dench inCranford. In 2013, she guest-starred in the BBC'sDoctor Who, playing the villainous Miss Kizlet in "The Bells of Saint John". In May 2016, she made her US television debut in the DC action-adventure seriesLegends of Tomorrow. In September 2016 she began starring as Phyllis in the FX seriesBetter Things.[11]
In 2025, Imrie appeared as a contestant on the first series ofThe Celebrity Traitors.[16] Her nervous fart, while locked in a wooden cabin with the other celebrities in episode 3, was described as the "TV moment of the year".[17] Imrie competed the game as a faithful before eventually being "murdered" in plain sight by traitorAlan Carr in episode 8.[18]
After appearing as a chorus girl in many a pantomime, Imrie got a job, in 1975, as an Assistant Stage Manager and understudy in theRoyal Shakespeare Company withGlenda Jackson playingHedda Gabler, directed byTrevor Nunn, on a world tour.[19] Also in the company at that time werePatrick Stewart,Timothy West,Peter Eyre,Pam St Clement,Jennie Linden andFidelis Morgan.
In 1979, Imrie played in her first revue,Performing Ceals with Celia Foxe, which first opened at The Bonne Crepe and played at various venues in London ending up in 1980 atThe Comic Strip.[20] Other plays includeSeduced at theRoyal Court Theatre, andHeaven and Hell at theTraverse Theatre. Imrie appeared with the company in the 1979, 1981 and 1983 seasons at the celebratedCitizens Theatre in Glasgow. In 1984 she played inAlfie withAdam Faith at theLiverpool Playhouse in a production directed byAlan Parker. In 1991 she appeared inThe Sea with DameJudi Dench at theNational Theatre in London.[21] In 2005, after a successful run at theKing's Head Theatre, her one woman playUnsuspecting Susan written by Stewart Permutt transferred to59E59 Theaters in New York.[22][23] In 2009 she appeared inPlague Over England in the West End,[24] while in the same year she appeared in the world premiere ofRobin Soans'sMixed Up North, directed byMax Stafford-Clark.[25] In 2010, she appeared alongside Robin Soans in a production of Sheridan'sThe Rivals.
In 2005, Imrie won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress inAcorn Antiques: The Musical! playing Miss Babs.[12][26][27] In 1995 she played inThe Hothouse at theChichester Festival Theatre withHarold Pinter,[28] with the production after transferring to the West End. In 1990 she appeared inHangover Square at theLyric Hammersmith withDudley Sutton,[29] inDrama at Inish (2011) at theFinborough Theatre withPaul O'Grady,[30] and in her cabaretLaughing Matters[31] – all adapted and directed byFidelis Morgan.
In 2010, Imrie played inHay Fever,[32] and during the 2011–2012 season she appeared inNoises Off atThe Old Vic and the West End, for which performance she was nominated for an Olivier Award.[33] In 2016 Imrie re-united withGlenda Jackson after 41 years since theirRSC world tour, playing a "grimly determined Goneril" inKing Lear at The Old Vic.[34]
Imrie narrated during the ceremonial event held to mark the 75th anniversary ofD-day atPortsmouth in 2019.[35]
Imrie's radio work includes parts inBBC Radio 4'sNo Commitments andBleak Expectations. In early 2007, she narrated the bookArabella, broadcast over two weeks as theBook at Bedtime. She was the guest onDesert Island Discs onBBC Radio 4 on 13 February 2011.[36]
She appeared onBBC Radio 4'sThe Museum of Curiosity in October 2019. Her hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "A half-burnt candle".[37]
ForBig Finish Productions, Imrie has played numerous roles, including Dr Kessika Miles, in theDoctor Who epicHooklight in 2025, oppositePeter Davison. Before that, she had voiced Madame Tissot in 2016Doctor Who storyGallery of Ghouls oppositeTom Baker. In the same year, she played Livia in theGallifrey spin-off series storyEnemy Lines. Earlier, in 2013, in anotherDoctor Who spin-off series entitledCounter Measures, a spin-off of the 1988 television episodeRemembrance of the Daleks, she played Dr Elizabeth Bradley in the episodeThe Fifth Axis.[38]
Her non-Doctor Who Big Finish roles include being co-lead in the Big Finish Original murder mystery seriesShilling and Sixpence.[39] She played Clementina Quentinbloom in their production ofJeremiah Bourne in Time.[40] She was also one of the actors to play Number Two in the Big Finish adaptation ofThe Prisoner.[41]
Imrie's debut novelNot Quite Nice was published byBloomsbury in 2015, had six weeks in theSunday Times Top Ten, was cited byThe Times as a 'delicious piece of entertainment', and also reached number 5 in theApple ibook chart and 8 inAmazon's book chart.[42] Her second novel,Nice Work (If You Can Get It), was published in 2016;[43] and her third,Sail Away, was published in February 2018.[44] Her next work,A Nice Cup of Tea, was published in 2019.[45] Her fifth novel,Orphans of the Storm, was published in 2021.
As part of the cast of the 2018 filmMamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Imrie achieved her first UK Top 40 single alongsideLily James with a cover of theABBA song "When I Kissed the Teacher", which reached number 40 in August 2018.[46]
Imrie lives in London and inNice, France.[47] She has a son,Angus Imrie, born in 1994, with the actorBenjamin Whitrow.[48] Angus appears as her on-screen son inKingdom (2007–2009) and has acted in other productions, having studied drama and performance at theUniversity of Warwick.[49]
When she was 14, she was admitted to theRoyal Waterloo Hospital suffering fromanorexia nervosa. Under the care of controversial psychiatristWilliam Sargant, she was givenelectroshock and large doses of the anti-psychotic drugLargactil.[50]
In July 2005, she suffered apulmonary embolism and was hospitalised for two weeks.[11][51]
Imrie was featured in theBBCgenealogy seriesWho Do You Think You Are? in October 2012 and discovered that an ancestor on her mother's side wasWilliam, Lord Russell, aWhig parliamentarian executed fortreason in 1683, after being found guilty of conspiring againstCharles II.[52] Imrie's great-great uncle, William Imrie, was a founder of theWhite Star Line. Imrie is the ten-times-great granddaughter of the infamousFrances Carr, Countess of Somerset.[53]
In 2013, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by theUniversity of Winchester.[54]
Imrie was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[55]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Upstairs, Downstairs | Jenny | "If You Were the Only Girl in the World", "Missing Believed Killed" |
| 1979 | To the Manor Born | Polly | "A Touch of Class" |
| 1980 | Shoestring | Sheila Johnson | "The Dangerous Game" |
| 1980 | To the Manor Born | Surgery Receptionist | "Vive Le Sport" |
| 1981 | The Nightmare Man | Fiona Patterson | |
| 1981 | 81 Take 2 | TV film | |
| 1982 | Cloud Howe | Else Queen | |
| 1983 | Bergerac | Marianne Bellshade | |
| 1985–1987 | Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV | Various characters | |
| 1988 | Taggart | Helen Lomax | "Root of Evil" |
| 1988–1989 | The New Statesman | Hilary | "Alan B'Stard Closes Down the BBC", "May the Best Man Win" |
| 1989 | Murder by Moonlight | Patsy Diehl | TV film |
| 1989 | Victoria Wood | Carol | "We'd Quite Like to Apologise" |
| 1989 | Victoria Wood | Jackie | "Val De Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha)" |
| 1989 | Victoria Wood | Julia / Spoof TV Ad actress | "Staying In" |
| 1990 | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | Miss Jewsbury | |
| 1990 | The World of Eddie Weary | Birdie | TV film |
| 1990 | Old Flames | Davina Wright / Hopjoy | |
| 1990 | 102 Boulevard Haussmann | Mme Massis | |
| 1991 | Lovejoy | Lady Felicity Carey-Holden | "The Italian Venus" |
| 1991 | The Darling Buds of May | Corinne Perigo | "When the Green Woods Laugh (Parts 1 & 2)" |
| 1991 | All Good Things | Rachel Bromley | |
| 1991 | Stay Lucky | Julie Vernon | "The Food of Love" |
| 1992 | Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast | Various characters | |
| 1992 | Van der Valk | Marijke Dekker | "Still Waters" |
| 1993 | Bonjour la Classe | Mrs Botney | "Red Card" |
| 1993 | The Riff Raff Element | Joanna Tundish | |
| 1993 | A Question of Guilt | Sissy Malton | TV film |
| 1994 | A Dark Adapted Eye | Vera Hillyard | TV film[61] |
| 1994 | Pat and Margaret | Claire | |
| 1994 | The Return of the Native | Susan Nunsuch | TV film |
| 1995–2001 | Absolutely Fabulous | Claudia Bing | "Jealous", "Menopause" |
| 1995 | Casualty | Elizabeth Clayton | "Learning Curve" |
| 1995–1996 | Blackhearts in Battersea | Duchess of Battersea | |
| 1996 | The Writing on the Wall | Kirsty | TV film |
| 1997 | Hospital! | Sister Muriel | TV film |
| 1997 | Wokenwell | June Bonney | |
| 1997 | Into the Blue | Nadine Cunningham | |
| 1997 | The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling | Mrs Miller | |
| 1997 | The Canterville Ghost | Lucy Otis | TV film |
| 1997 | Mr. White Goes to Westminster | Victoria Madison | TV film |
| 1998 | Duck Patrol | Mrs Calloway | "River Rage" |
| 1998–2000 | dinnerladies | Philippa Moorcroft | |
| 1999 | Wetty Hainthropp Investigates | Nightclub owner | TV Short |
| 1999 | Hilltop Hospital | Surgeon Sally | Voice role |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol | Mrs Bennett | TV film |
| 2000 | Gormenghast | Lady Gertrude | |
| 2000 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Christina Chance | "Above the Law" |
| 2000 | Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings | Various characters | |
| 2001 | Love in a Cold Climate | Aunt Sadie | |
| 2001 | Baddiel's Syndrome | Ruth Proudhon | "Inventions Now" |
| 2001 | Station Jim | Miss Frazier | TV film |
| 2001 | Midsomer Murders | Louise August | "Dark Autumn" |
| 2001 | Randall & Hopkirk | Professor McKern | "Revenge of the Bog People" |
| 2002 | Heartbeat | Sylvia Langley | "The Shoot" |
| 2002 | The Gathering Storm | Violet Pearman | TV film |
| 2002 | Sparkhouse | Kate Lawton | |
| 2002 | A Is for Acid | Rose Henderson | TV film |
| 2002 | Daniel Deronda | Mrs Meyrick | |
| 2002 | Doctor Zhivago | Anna Gromyko | |
| 2003 | The Planman | Gail Forrester | TV film |
| 2003 | Still Game | Mrs Begg | "Wummin'" |
| 2004 | Jonathan Creek | Thelma Bailey | "Gorgons Wood" |
| 2004 | Doc Martin | Susan Brading | "Going Bodmin" |
| 2004 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Madame Joilet | "4.50 From Paddington" |
| 2005 | Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle | Miss Davies | TV film |
| 2006 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | 'Aunt' Kathy Cloade | "Taken at the Flood" |
| 2006 | The Lavender List | Mary Wilson | TV film |
| 2006 | Where the Heart Is | Gaynor Whiteside | "Walk of Faith" |
| 2007–2008 | After You've Gone | Diana | Main role; 25 episodes |
| 2007–2009 | Kingdom | Gloria Millington | 18 episodes |
| 2009 | Cranford | Lady Glenmire | "Christmas Special" |
| 2010 | The Road to Coronation Street | Doris Speed | TV film |
| 2011 | The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | Miss Christmasham | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Hacks | Tabby | TV film |
| 2012 | Titanic | Grace Rushton | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Lewis | Michelle Marber | "The Soul of Genius"[62] |
| 2013 | Doctor Who | Miss Kizlet | "The Bells of Saint John" |
| 2013 | Love and Marriage | Rowan Holdaway | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Blandings | Charlotte | 1 episode |
| 2014 | Our Zoo | Lady Daphne Goodwin | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Vicious | Lillian Haverfield-Wickham | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Legends of Tomorrow | Mary Xavier | 1 episode |
| 2016–2022 | Better Things | Phyllis "Phil" Darby | Main role; 50 episodes |
| 2018 | Patrick Melrose | Kettle | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Hang Ups | Maggie Pitt | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Keeping Faith | Rose Fairchild | Series 3; Main role |
| 2023–present | The Diplomat | Margaret "Meg" Roylin | Recurring role |
| 2024 | A Ghost Story for Christmas | Edith Nesbit | Episode 18: "Woman of Stone" |
| 2025 | The Celebrity Traitors | Herself | Contestant; 7th Place series one[63] |
Source:[64]
