She is one of our most distinguished actresses and a familiar face through her roles in films including Mamma Mia 2, Calendar Girls and Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace.
So Celia Imrie was seen as the perfect person to host the 80th anniversary VJ Day commemoration in the presence of King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Armed Forces Memorial in Alrewas, Staffordshire, last month.
Now, however, the 73-year-old star has revealed that her day was marred by having to stand during her entire two-and-a-half hour railway journey back to London because much younger fellow passengers declined to offer her a seat.
Imrie, who plays pensioner-sleuth Joyce Meadowcroft in Netflix film The Thursday Murder Club, has decided to speak publicly about how real-life respect for today's older generation can be in short supply.
'The VJ Day event, which was so extraordinary, was in Staffordshire, a long way from London on the train,' she says. 'Now, I never make a fuss, but I had to stand all the way back for two-and-a-half hours because nobody decided to give up their seat. I couldn't believe it.'
Celia Imrie has revealed that her day was marred by having to stand during her entire two-and-a-half hour railway journey back to London because much younger fellow passengers declined to offer her a seat
The Olivier Award winner adds: 'So if you're asking me, do people not really notice you as you get older, I'm afraid I do notice that. Even just walking on the street, you're not envisioned. It's really weird. I wear a bright coat.'
Imrie is certainly not lacking respect from her peers. Earlier this year, I disclosed that she had made history in London's clubland by becoming one of the first women to be elected a member of the Garrick.
Imrie previously hit the headlines when it was disclosed that she had reached an agreement with a male friend for him to father a child with her and then give up parental responsibility.
It was later revealed the man in question was her fellow actor Benjamin Whitrow, who died in 2017 aged 80. Their son, Angus, now 30, plays Josh Archer in the long-running Radio 4 soap.
Queen Elizabeth was said to be 'infuriated' when Prince Harry used her family's pet name for her, Lilibet, for his daughter. So whatever would she have made of this? A restaurant called Lilibet's is to be opened at her birthplace, 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair. Former Nobu executive chef Ross Shonhan says of the venue: 'This address carries an unexpected history, and that gave us the freedom to be creative. Lilibet's will be a great seafood restaurant that respects British ingredients while embracing flavours from further afield.'
Royal gift is Kate's crowning glory
Kate Morgan, 32, with her new husband Lord Hugh Carnegie, 32, son of the Duke of Fife - third cousin of the King - at Kinnaird Castle
There were no tiaras in Westminster Abbey at the King's Coronation in 2023, but one took pride of place at his relation's wedding at the weekend.
Kate Morgan, 32, whose great-grandfather founded the Morgan Motor Company, wore the Fife fringe diamond tiara as she exchanged vows with Lord Hugh Carnegie, 32, son of the Duke of Fife - third cousin of the King - at Kinnaird Castle. The tiara was given to Princess Louise of Wales for her wedding to the 1st Duke of Fife in 1889.
Guests at the wedding included Lady Marina Windsor, the Duke of Kent's granddaughter.
National Trust former chairman Sir Simon Jenkins warns a 'tragedy is about to occur for modern art in Britain'. He is horrified that Sotheby's is about to auction off socialite Pauline Karpidas' surrealist art collection kept in her Bayswater apartment - including works by Picasso and Dali - for as much as £60million. 'The art is inseparable from the home,' he wails. 'There must be a way of keeping it together and in place.'
Radio 2 welcomes new listener: Prince William
Proof that the Prince of Wales has reached middle age: the heir to the throne, 43, has started listening to BBC Radio 2.
'I have heard that William has made the switch from Radio 1,' says DJ Scott Mills, who played a message recorded by the prince on his Radio 2 breakfast show in June in which he highlighted the Earthshot Prize, his global environmental award.
When William appeared on Radio 1 with his wife, Catherine, in 2017, he said: 'I'm probably at the edge of your age limit. I'm probably meant to go over to Radio 2 now, but I'm hanging on in there.'
He even admitted texting Radio 1 anonymously. Now, Mills, who was previously on the station aimed at younger people, tells me: 'He used to text in all the time - obviously not going "Love HRH".
'He would text in, and I didn't know who he was, but he would chip in with the conversation and he would text the radio station's normal number.'
Slipper not a perfect fit? It's a pizza cake for Lily
Having starred in Cinderella, Lily James knows the importance of a shoe fitting. And she couldn't help but fiddle with the laces on her sandal while on a night out in Tuscany
In one picture she posted online, Lily could be seen dishing out a sweet pizza while holding a bottle of red wine
Having starred in Cinderella, Lily James knows the importance of a shoe fitting. And she couldn't help but fiddle with the laces on her sandal while on a night out in Tuscany.
The former Downton Abbey star, wearing a white, plunging summer dress, has been on holiday in Italy.
In one picture she posted online, Lily could be seen dishing out a sweet pizza while holding a bottle of red wine.
The Surrey- born star, 36, will next appear on screen in the film Swiped, where she plays Whitney Wolfe Herd, the entrepreneur behind the dating apps Tinder and Bumble.
Lily admits that online dating isn't for her. 'I try to stay as private as I can,' she says. 'Being on a dating app feels a bit counterintuitive to that.'
As the daughter of David Bowie and Iman, Lexi Jones couldn't have a richer heritage. The artist, 24, says being mixed race has, however, proved a challenge. 'The biracial experience often means identity struggles, being pressured to pick a side and then rejected whichever side is chosen. It means struggling for belonging and acceptance, feeling insignificant or even irrelevant and being fetishised for looking "ethnic" or "exotic".'