CELIA IMRIE
Celia Imrie CBE is one of Britain's best-loved actresses, with a career spanning more than fifty years across film, television, theatre, and radio. Her film work includes the Bridget Jones series, Calendar Girls, Nanny McPhee, St Trinian's, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and, most recently, The Thursday Murder Club.
On television she has appeared in everything from Upstairs, Downstairs and Doctor Who to the FX series Better Things and Netflix's The Diplomat, and in 2025 she took part in the first series of The Celebrity Traitors.
A longtime collaborator of the late Victoria Wood, she won an Olivier Award for her performance in Acorn Antiques: The Musical!
Beyond acting, Imrie is an accomplished author. Her books include the memoir The Happy Hoofer and a string of bestselling novels beginning with Not Quite Nice, alongside Nice Work (If You Can Get It), Sail Away, A Nice Cup of Tea, Orphans of the Storm, and Meet Me at Rainbow Corner. She was appointed CBE in 2023 for services to drama.
An enthusiastic traveller all her life, Imrie has criss-crossed the globe by ship, rail, and every mode in between — adventures she draws on in The Elegant Hustler.
The Elegant Hustler: Adventures From a Life on the Move
'Days seem so exhilarating aboard a ship: surrounded by water, an ever-changing spectrum of blues, greys and black, the sky surrounds you like a great bowl. The colours change from Prussian blue, speckled with turquoise, white horses, to fifty shades of grey, with the horizon a thin silver line and a Biblical display of golden sunrays, spilling down.'
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For Celia Imrie, travel is not simply a passion, it's a way of life. She is never happier than when on the move.
Jump onboard with Celia as she journeys back in time and shares the most memorable adventures of her life, riding ocean waves and iconic railways across the world. From tours around Australia with Glenda Jackson, Arctic quests in search of the Northern lights and chaotic cross-country journeys through Europe; to rolling through America's sweeping plains on Amtrak, glamorous voyages on the Queen Mary 2, and unforgettable trips on India's legendary trains.
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All told with Celia's signature wit and humour, the journeys may be long, but they are never dull — especially when her travel companion Fidelis Morgan is in tow. Drama seems to follow the two actors wherever they go.
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Richly observed and full of charm, this is a love letter to adventure, friendship, and the enduring joy that rewards curiosity.
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