If you’re under the age of 30 and think of the name Celia Imrie, you likely think of the woman who farted in a log cabin during an episode of The Celebrity Traitors season 1.
Obviously you’d be factually correct, but this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of just how iconic Imrie actually is. From Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies to Calendar Girls and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, if there’s been a worthwhile British drama, she’s been there to improve it.
Now, the same can be said for War on HBO Max (international) and Sky TV (UK). Following two legal firms as they represent a spouse in a high-profile divorce trial, Imrie plays Budgie, a freelance barrister working for the newly established Taylor & Byrne.
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From watching the trailer below, you might have assumed, like me, that Imrie was to play the High Court Judge overseeing the trial. According to Taylor and Byrne themselves, James McArdle and Phoebe Fox, Imrie had those onset so fooled by her power, that their opening scene in episode 1 had to be entirely reshot.
‘She has such inherent power’
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“She is such an incredibly charismatic woman and has such an inherent power,” Fox tells me. “Originally, she just turns up and is in the office with us having a scene — but they actually had to reshoot her entering the office because everyone who watched it thought that she ran the company.
“We’re the bosses, but that wasn’t clear, apparently. She’s a dream woman to work with.”
And water is wet. This news doesn’t surprise me in the slightest… but what I didn’t realise is that Celebrity Traitors was airing at the same time as War was being filmed, which must have been like striking gold for any other cast members with a penchant for reality TV.
“While we were filming, Traitors was on,” McArdle adds. “It was really hard for the director to get me to concentrate because I just kept trying to get spoilers out of Celia and Nick (Mohammed). Celia and I knew each other from way before, so I thought she would tell me… but she never did.”
Oh, didn’t I mention that there’s also a Celebrity Traitors reunion within the cast too? More on that later this week. For now, set your clocks ready to watch War this Friday (October 2).
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