She raised eyebrows when she arranged to have a child with actor Benjamin Whitrow, but made a deal to raise her son alone.
And even though she didn’t want to marry or live with her long-time friend, Celia Imrie has revealed she was once involved in a romantic relationship with the late star.
Miss Imrie, now 65, first asked Mr Whitrow for a child in her early 40s and told him she didn’t expect him to contribute towards the baby’s upbringing.
Celia Imrie, with her son Angus, has revealed she was once involved in a romantic relationship with Benjamin Whitrow
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the Calendar Girls actress said Mr Whitrow was a ‘wonderful father’ to Angus.
She said: ‘Angus was devoted to this father and, though I’ve never really said it properly, Ben and I did have a romance.
‘I wanted to have his baby before it was too late and he [Whitrow] was very, very honest with him [Angus] and he accepted that and was a wonderful father.’
Mr Whitrow, who is best known for playing Mr Bennet in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, died last September at the age of 80.
Miss Imrie told the paper: ‘His death was very tough. I’d lost a very darling friend and, childishly, I found it terribly difficult to accept someone you’d loved was not in the world anymore. I still feel like that.’
The actress has previously spoken about her deal with Mr Whitrow and insisted they were purely friends.
She met Mr Whitrow at the BBC in the 1990s and later asked him to father her child during a walk on the beach.
Miss Imrie became pregnant aged 41 and gave birth to Angus in 1994. Angus, now 23, is also an actor and was cast in the Archers in 2014
In her 2011 autobiography, the Happy Hoofer, she wrote: ‘We gradually got to know each other and grew very fond. He thought perhaps in time…but because Ben had a grown-up family I was very anxious not to upset them.
‘Ben and I walked on the beach one day as I laid out my terms.
Benjamin Whitrow, who is best known for playing Mr Bennet in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, died last September at the age of 80
‘As long as he understood I would not ask for anything, I wouldn’t want to live with him, or marry him, would never ask for money for the child and I would be responsible for choosing and paying for the child’s education, accommodation, clothing – everything.
‘I was trying to be clear and true. Some people might say calculated, but I would say I was being honest.
‘If Ben could take all that on board, I said, then his offer to fulfil my wish for a child would be wonderful. He has proved to be a marvellous father to Angus. And his whole family has been very welcoming.’
Miss Imrie became pregnant aged 41 and gave birth to Angus in 1994. He’s now 23 and is also an actor.
He was cast in the Archers in 2014. He plays Josh Archer, who helps his parents David and Ruth at Brookfield Farm.
Miss Imrie has remained single since, saying she regards marriage as a ‘trap’.
In an interview with BBC News yesterday she added: ‘I’m just grabbing life, every second and every challenge. None of us knows how long we’ve got.
‘I’m not being dramatic but I’m not stupid either and time’s running out a bit.’