JULIE WALTERS,

At last, the wonderful Julie Walters is a dame! She’s one of Good Housekeeping’s favourite cover stars, so we say about time, too! Dame Julie reveals how it feels to be in her prime – and how she really is flying high…

now Dame Julie, talks to GH about what’s keeping her busy

it seems fitting that Julie Walters starred in last year’s drama National Treasure: the title is an apt description of one of our most popular actresses. At 67, she has just been honoured with a damehood for services to drama, and shows no sign of slowing down – with two films out this year and the highly-anticipated Mary Poppins Returns in 2018, she couldn’t be busier. Away from the limelight, Julie enjoys the good life with her husband, Grant Roffey, who runs an organic farm in Sussex. They met over 30 years ago when he was an AA man (he soon taught her to drive), and have one daughter, Maisie. She’s also known for her longstanding partnership with close friend Victoria Wood, who sadly died of cancer last year. ‘The loss of her is incalculable,’ Julie said at the time. Now Dame Julie is working with Macmillan Cancer Support on its Biggest Coffee Morning campaign. It’s a cause that has led her to examine her own health, she reveals, as she talks about marriage, getting old gracefully and why she’s given up baking…

You have made so many big roles your own, how do you decide what to do?

The whole thing has got to work for me. It’s got to be from someone’s heart. You can tell in the writing if it’s not. Some things are so formulaic and you think, yes, it will be prime time and there will be loads of money for it, but not only have I seen it before, it’s just hackneyed. Then you get other stuff that’s really interesting and from the heart, and it’s being made on a really low budget. So I have to believe in it. The characters have to have a believable journey.

We’re looking forward to Mary Poppins Returns, what can you tell us about the film?

I play Ellen the housekeeper, and I sing and fly! It’s great fun. Also being around kids. That’s the thing when you get older and you’re an actor – you get to be around younger people, which is really good for you. Emily Blunt (who plays Mary) is fantastic. She brought me to tears in the rehearsal room when she was singing one of the songs. It’s very moving.

Would you go to Los Angeles to star in a Hollywood blockbuster?

I have done blockbusters but I’ve never been to LA to work. It’s like going to the moon! I’ve got family and a husband and I think, ‘What is the point of being married?’ I would never see him. Grant doesn’t put any pressure on me, but we would miss one another. There is more to life than just acting.

You’ll be celebrating your 20th wedding anniversary soon.

We have actually been together for 32 years. We had a 12-year engagement! We mark the time we first met. We got married because the accountant said we should! I thought if something happened to me, they would have to sell the house because of inheritance tax and all of that. So we went off to New York and got married there. It turned out to be romantic. We stayed at the Four Seasons and it was really lovely.

What’s your secret for a happy marriage?

Communication. We talk about everything. And not being afraid to say sorry sometimes – even when you are always right! That’s important. A bit of tolerance and compromise. Knowing it’s not perfect; it can’t ever be. There’s no such thing. I think that’s why people fall down, wanting perfection and romance. Romance comes out of reality. Not the opposite. Grant puts notes in my packing when I go away. I find a little note saying ‘I love you’ in among my things. I just say: ‘Don’t forget the washing!’

How do you relax?

I’m not very good at switching off. My head is always going and I think that’s not good. You have to find something like meditation. I try. I’m not brilliant at it but I do try to do it. I do yoga stretches. I have terrible posture and they help with that.

What makes you feel happiest?

I’m content when there’s nothing to worry about and that everyone who matters to me is well. Contentment is lying on the sofa with the dog and my husband and watching the soaps! I’ve been watching Corrie since I was 10. Emmerdale is great, and Eastenders, too.

You’re supporting Macmillan’s Biggest Coffee Morning this month, what will you be baking?

It is extraordinary and raises such a lot of money. It’s about people coming together and is easy. You can get your mates and family round or do it with your friends at the office. It’s ingenious, simple and fun. I do like making cakes, but my 94-year-old father-inlaw bakes, so I have stopped. He’s really good at it and has usurped my role! But that’s okay.

Why is your involvement with Macmillan Cancer Support so important to you?

I used to be a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Back then, it was a big cancer centre, so I came into contact with it quite a lot as a young person and realised how devastating it was for people. Macmillan isn’t just about funding care. It’s about financial and emotional support, too. There is nothing more lonely than being ill, no matter who you’ve got round you. To have the support of Macmillan is a wonderful thing.

Has it influenced your own approach to health?

It makes me value my health. I have had friends who have got terribly ill. You think, ‘I’m worrying about a part and how to play it and how important is that?’ It just puts things into perspective. I am more careful now with what I eat. My digestive system isn’t brilliant. Everybody gets worse when they get older, so I am quite careful about that and it has never been good. I want to live!

You are one of our busiest actresses, do you ever think about slowing down?

When I reached 60, I thought I don’t know if I want to carry on and I thought I could retire. I didn’t really work that year apart from finishing off Harry Potter. I thought, ‘This is it!’ But then a play came in from The National that I thought was fantastic! I don’t think I will formally retire. I will just fade away out of the business.

What does feminism mean to you, especially when actresses are speaking out about equal pay.

It’s about equality of opportunity. It’s good that we’re talking about it. It should be out there. A lot of people don’t know that it is the case. The men were earning more money. Why? It’s the same bloody job! It’s women who go to the cinema more generally speaking, so it doesn’t make sense from that point of view either. I think it’s wrong. Equal pay is the answer.

How do you feel about cosmetic surgery and Botox?

It’s all right for some. I don’t want to go there. I feel like I would be letting myself down. Sometimes I think, ‘Oh God, look at the bags under my eyes,’ but then I think, ‘I am 67, I should look like this!’ This is the story of my life.

Do you feel like you are in your prime?

It would be nice to think you’re in your prime at 67!

How do you feel about turning 70 in three years’ time?

You can’t help it! All I want is to be mobile and well. I don’t want to look 30 or anything like that. I still like clothes. I don’t want to be massively overweight either. I am careful. I want to feel okay and be able to work if I want to! There have been one or two things I’ve been offered and I’ve thought, ‘That’s such a lot of work. That’s going to be so painful to play.’ So I’ve turned things down. That’s age. Ten years ago

It would be NICE to think you are in your PRIME at 67!