One of the nation’s favourite sitcoms is hitting the big screen this week, 24 years after the first episode aired. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie reunites Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as heavy-drinking fashionistas Edina and Patsy and brings back an impressive array of supporting players, including Celia Imrie as bitchy PR maven Claudia Bing. Imrie’s career has blossomed post-Ab Fab and it’s set to continue, with roles in Bridget Jones’s Baby, Louis CK-penned sitcom Better Things and evil spa horror A Cure for Wellness.
But after 40 years in the business, what have been her greatest roles?
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Celia played half of this film’s answer to Thelma and Louise when she took on the role of Una Alconbury, the best friend of Bridget’s interfering mum Pam in this hit comedy. While her role in this film may be small, it’s certainly memorable and Una does far more than just stir the gravy at Pam’s annual post-christmas turkey curry buffet. Her interest in Bridget’s love life, her marriage to ‘Uncle’ Geoffrey, and her ability to throw memorable Tarts and Vicars fancy dress parties mean that Una is one of the characters fondly remembered in the film.
Calendar Girls
In this fact-based comedy, Imrie plays a major’s wife whose starring moment comes when posing for a photo using cakes to cover her modesty, co-star Helen Mirren’s character shouts “We’re going to need considerably bigger buns!” Imrie has said that people still affectionately call her Bigger Buns in the street 13 years on.
Nanny McPhee
She plays Mrs Quickly in the now iconic children’s favourite, a horrible woman that is due to marry Cedric (Colin Firth) to stop his family from becoming poor at the hands of his late wife’s aunt Lady Adelaide. As the clip shows, her ability to play such a mean and disliked character whilst letting her own personality shine through made the character both a favourite of Imrie’s and the audience.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
In this surprise hit (that spawned an unlikely franchise), Imrie plays Madge Hardcastle, a woman on the search for yet another husband after several unsuccessful marriages. Her on screen flirtatious chemistry with Richard Gere in the sequel of the film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has proven to be a hit with viewers.
The Love Punch
This comedy about a divorced couple, Kate (Emma Thompson) and Richard (Pierce Brosnan), forced to come together again to retrieve his lost pension fund, received mixed reviews. Imrie plays their neighbour Penelope, who along with husband Jerry (Timothy Spall) come along for the wicked ride and show the perfect contrast of a couple that have stayed together and have known each other inside out for years, or so you would think. Her comedic timing and partnership with all the main actors, especially Spall, was part of what gave this film its charm. If all else fails, someone always has to bring the sandwiches on a revenge mission.
