Celia John Popular Books

Celia John Biography & Facts

Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She is best known for her film roles, including the Bridget Jones film series, Calendar Girls (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), The English dub of The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales... (2017), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Malevolent (2018) and for the FX TV series Better Things (2016-2022). In the United Kingdom she is known for her work with Victoria Wood, including Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1985–1987), the sitcom dinnerladies (1998–2000), Acorn Antiques: The Musical!, for which she won the 2006 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, and The Diplomat (2023). Early life and education Imrie was born on 15 July 1952 in Guildford, Surrey, the fourth of five children of Diana Elizabeth Blois (née Cator) and David Andrew Imrie, a radiologist. Her father was from Glasgow, Scotland. Imrie is the ten-times-great granddaughter of the infamous Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset. Imrie was educated at Guildford High School, an independent school for girls in her home town of Guildford, followed by the Guildford School of Acting. Career Film Imrie's film credits include Nanny McPhee, Hilary and Jackie (playing Iris du Pré), and the 1997 film The Borrowers, in which she played Homily Clock. Other films include Bridget Jones's Diary, Calendar Girls, Highlander, and as Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. In 2007 she appeared in St Trinian's. Television Imrie's television credits include Bergerac,The Nightmare Man, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Casualty, Absolutely Fabulous, The Darling Buds of May and Upstairs, Downstairs. In the 2000 miniseries of Gormenghast, she played Lady Gertrude. She also appeared in the 2005 BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle, where she played the role of a teacher taking an unruly party of pupils on a day-trip to Salisbury Cathedral. She starred alongside Nicholas Lyndhurst in the BBC sitcom After You've Gone (2007–2008), and in the ITV1 drama Kingdom (2007–2009) with Stephen Fry. Her part in After You've Gone has, whilst being critically acclaimed, been described as "criminally squandered". In 2013, she guest-starred in the BBC's Doctor 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 series Legends of Tomorrow. In September 2016 she began starring as Phyllis in the FX series Better Things. In 2021, Imrie took over as narrator of the BBC's Talking Pictures. Theatre In 2005 she received very positive reviews for her US stage debut in Unsuspecting Susan. In 2009 she appeared in Plague Over England in the West End, a play about John Gielgud, and received positive reviews for her performance. That same year, she appeared in the world premiere of Robin Soans' Mixed Up North, directed by Max Stafford-Clark. In 2010, she appeared alongside Robin Soans in a production of Sheridan's The Rivals. Imrie narrated during the ceremonial event held to mark the 75th anniversary of D-day at Portsmouth in 2019. Radio Imrie's radio work includes parts in BBC Radio 4's No Commitments and Bleak Expectations. In early 2007, she narrated the book Arabella, broadcast over two weeks as the Book at Bedtime. She appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity in October 2019. Her hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "A half-burnt candle". Work with Victoria Wood Imrie is perhaps best known in the United Kingdom for her frequent collaborations with Victoria Wood, with whom she appeared in TV programmes such as the sitcom dinnerladies and sketch show Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV. It was on the latter show in 1985 that she first played the part of Miss Babs, owner of Acorn Antiques, a parody of the low-budget British soap opera Crossroads. These sketches became such a British institution that in 2005 Wood turned the show into Acorn Antiques: The Musical!, a West End musical, starring most of the original cast. Imrie won an Olivier Award in 2006 for her performance. The character is known for her frequent parodic flirtations with the customers and her interactions with the housekeeper, Mrs Overall (portrayed by Julie Walters). Books Her debut novel Not Quite Nice was published by Bloomsbury in 2015, had six weeks in the Sunday Times Top Ten, was cited by The Times as a 'delicious piece of entertainment', and also reached number 5 in the Apple ibook chart and 8 in Amazon's book chart. Her second novel, Nice Work (If You Can Get It), was published in 2016; and her third, Sail Away, was published in February 2018. Her next work, A Nice Cup of Tea, was published in 2019. Her fifth novel, Orphans of the Storm, was published in 2021. The Happy Hoofer (2011), Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 978-1444709278 Not Quite Nice (2015), Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1632860323 Nice Work (If You Can Get It) (2016), Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1408876909 Sail Away (2018), Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1408883235 A Nice Cup of Tea (2019), Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1408883266 Orphans of the Storm (2021), Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1526614896Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again As part of the cast of the 2018 film Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Imrie achieved her first UK Top 40 single alongside Lily James with a cover of the ABBA song "When I Kissed the Teacher", which reached number 40 in August 2018. Personal life Imrie lives in London and in Nice, France. She has a son, Angus Imrie, with the actor Benjamin Whitrow, but has said that she "hated the idea of marriage", describing it as a "world of cover-up and compromise". Angus appears as her on-screen son in Kingdom and has acted in other productions, having studied drama and performance at the University of Warwick.When she was 14, she was admitted to the Royal Waterloo Hospital suffering from anorexia nervosa. Under the care of controversial psychiatrist William Sargant, she was given electroshock and large doses of the anti-psychotic drug Largactil.In July 2005 she suffered a pulmonary embolism and was hospitalised for two weeks.She was the guest on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 on 13 February 2011. Imrie was featured in the BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? in October 2012 and discovered that an ancestor on her mother's side was William, Lord Russell, a Whig parliamentarian executed for treason in 1683, after being found guilty of conspiring against Charles II. Imrie's great-great uncle, William Imrie, was a founder of the White Star Line. In 2013, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Winchester. Honours and awards Imrie was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to drama. (1992) The Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actress in The Sea (2006) Olivier Award for Best Pe.... Discover the Celia John popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Celia John books.

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  • How To Break Bad News synopsis, comments

    How To Break Bad News

    Tim Molloy

    Dumped by his activist girlfriend when he won’t commit to her brand of idealism, reporter Scott Thomas sets out to prove his own dedication to dogooding. He goes undercover at a fa...

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    Mystery on the Isles of Shoals

    J. Dennis Robinson

    For the first time, the full story of a crime that has haunted New England since 1873.The coldblooded ax murder of two innocent Norwegian women at their island home off the coast o...

  • Poems synopsis, comments

    Poems

    Celia John

    Poems is a collection of poems about issues we face in life such as the inability to make crucial decisions, our dreams and the journey we make in life that leads us to certain tra...

  • Good Loo Hunting synopsis, comments

    Good Loo Hunting

    Luke Barclay

    Lake Titikaka! Canterbury Cathedral!Elephants crossing the Zambezi! Baseball! The Atacama Desert! Goats! These are just some of the sights you can see from the comfort of a conveni...

  • Poetry synopsis, comments

    Poetry

    Celia John

    This is a collection of spiritual poems about the struggles that we can encounter in our daily life. All of us have problems that seem insurmountable. These poems reflect the belie...

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    Educating Jack

    Jack Sheffield

    As the 1982 school year begins, Jack Sheffield returns to Ragley village school for his sixth year as headteacher. Nora Pratt celebrates twentyfive years in her coffee shop, Ronnie...

  • Get Out If You Can How To Escape An Abusive Relationship And Be Happy synopsis, comments

    Get Out If You Can How To Escape An Abusive Relationship And Be Happy

    Celia John

    Do you know the signs of an abusive partner?Do you feel helpless, powerless, and out of control?Can you recognize if you are in an abusive relationship?Are you a victim of domestic...

  • Love Poems synopsis, comments

    Love Poems

    Celia John

    Love Poems explores the feelings of desire that a man has towards a woman and how he can express it with a single look. It also has poems about a woman's discovery about the differ...

  • The System Sucks What Victims Of Domestic Violence Want You To Know synopsis, comments

    The System Sucks What Victims Of Domestic Violence Want You To Know

    Celia John

    Are you a professional working with victims of domestic violence?Are you a victim of domestic violence fed up with your treatment by professionals?As a professional do you understa...