Celia Imrie talks boom in movies for older audiences: ‘There is a shift’

The actress and writer has appeared in Finding Your Feet and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies recently, and has admitted “there is a shift” in producers’ willingness to green-light such stories.

“I think that there are more roles, but that is a recent shift,” she said.

“Optimistically, I think that there are more and more roles, and that is because these films are very successful – like Calendar Girls and the Best Exotic Marigold films.

“I am now in the right position to play these types of roles, although I don’t like to admit my age, because it wouldn’t work if I was twenty-five.”

She added: “I don’t think that these films would have worked twenty years ago, I don’t think there was the appeal.”

Imrie was recently seen in Finding Your Feet, another movie appealing to older cinemagoers.

“It’s interesting that this script is written by a married couple. Both sexes get something from this film,” she said.

“I often look at my son and think I don’t know what it is to be a young man, so it’s quite hard to write about.

“I think that this film is a very fair representation of both sexes, and it thrills me that young people are enjoying it.”

The comedy – which is out on DVD and Blu-ray now – sees her teaming up with Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall and Joanna Lumley among others.

Imrie has worked with Staunton before, and it seems playing her sister on-screen came naturally.

“Imelda and I worked as KitKat girls in Cabaret back in 1978, and we both had our children at the same time, and we did Habeas Corpus at the Donmar together, so over the years we have worked on and off together,” the star said.

“And whereas we had the underlying velvet of a familiarity, we had to play the estrangement on top of that, which was rather good, because that was immediately okay.”

Finding Your Feet is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.