- Celie Imrie has joined the cast of The Thursday Murder Club movie, based on the book of the same name by Richard Osman
- The actress joins Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan as part of the crime-fighting pensioner quartet
- Osman said he was ‘thrilled’ with the news
He’s the former TV game show host turned crime writer.
And now Richard Osman’s books are being turned into a movie – with the help of a few famous faces.
The UK presenter, 53, published the first book in his successful series, The Thursday Murder Club, back in 2020. The novels follow a group of pensioners in a retirement complex – who also happen to be exceptionally good at solving grisly crimes.
After the rest of the cast was announced back in April, the lineup has now been completed – as Celia Imrie is set to play the role of Joyce.
Fans will recognise Imrie from her roles in Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, as well as series including Dinnerladies, After You’ve Gone, Doctor Who, Patrick Melrose, Better Things and The Diplomat.
‘It’s very exciting’
She joins Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan, who will play Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron in the film.
Revealing that he was “so thrilled” at the news Imrie would be featuring in his film, Osman previously said of the rest of the cast, “So, Elizabeth is going to be played by the person who people most often shout at me in the street as them wanting to play Elizabeth… Elizabeth is going to be played by Helen Mirren, which is very exciting.”
He added that Brosnan is “the most handsome man in the world”, and confirmed filming would take place next month until September, all in England.
The Thursday Murder Club became the fastest-selling adult crime debut in history when it was published in 2020, and has since been followed by three sequels – The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed and the Last Devil to Die – with another set for release next year.
The movie will be directed by Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, after the film rights were snapped up by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
