{
  "id": 10638010,
  "title": "War made Celia Imrie look so powerful that HBO Max show's opening episode was refilmed",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/war-made-celia-imrie-look-so-powerful-that-hbo-max-shows-opening",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-29T07:05:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/streaming/hbo-max/war-made-celia-imrie-look-so-powerful-that-the-hbo-max-shows-opening-episode-had-to-be-refilmed-everyone-watching-thought-she-ran-the-company"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Celia Imrie's powerful presence on HBO Max's War led to a reshot opening scene. Fans under 30 may recognize Imrie as the woman who farted in The Celebrity Traitors, but her influence extends far beyond. From Acorn Antiques and Dinnerladies to Calendar Girls and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Imrie has graced numerous British dramas. In War, Imrie plays Budgie, a freelance barrister representing two law firms. Initially, she was believed to be the High Court Judge overseeing the trial, but co-producers James McArdle and Phoebe Fox confirmed she played a freelance barrister. Reactions to Imrie's character were so strong that the opening scene had to be entirely reshot. Fox remarked, \"She has such inherent power. She is such an incredibly charismatic woman and has such an inherent power.\" McArdle and Fox appreciated Imrie's charismatic presence, which made her an excellent cast member. Interestingly, War was being filmed simultaneously with the popular reality show Celebrity Traitors. McArdle mentioned, \"It was really hard for the director to get me to concentrate because I just kept trying to get spoilers out of Celia and Nick (Mohammed).\" Despite the overlap, Imrie's talent remained unmatched. Additionally, there will be a Celebrity Traitors reunion within the cast later this week, so stay tuned for more drama.",
  "summary": "One delicious detail of new HBO Max series War is that the iconic Celia Imrie is part of the cast — and apparently her aura is too powerful for her own good.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}