By Megan Bull

Copyright hellomagazine

Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter have been married for over 40 years. The stars – who appear as Lady Maud Bagshaw and Mr Carson – tied the knot in 1983, after working on a 1982 production of Guys and Dolls. They’re also proud parents to actress Bessie Carter, who currently portrays Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton.

Speaking about the secret to their marriage, Imelda told British Vogue: “Success is a really tricky word. And it should be spelled with a very small S. I think it poisons people. I feel Jim and I have made our lives work as a marriage within this business, and we take our life more seriously than our jobs.

“Of course, we both take [the job] very seriously,” she continued. “But you go, what’s the most important thing here? That I play another part? Or that we go on a very nice holiday, or that we have that time in the garden, that we have our life? But we can afford to say that – I don’t mean financially, but with the work we’ve done and are lucky enough to still be doing. I think we know how fortunate we are.”