Curse of Paddington cast from cancer and feuds to split that left wife in tears
The heartwarming tale of Paddington stole the nation's hearts and even the late Queen's too, but the cast behind the hit franchise has faced their own heartbreak.
The marmalade-loving bear has been a family favourite for decades and in recent years, the loveable character finally made it to the big screen with a big-name cast for its film franchise. He even had a leading role in a sketch alongside Queen Elizabeth II for the 2012 Olympics.
Decades on after the character was first created in a children's book by Michael Bond in 1958, a Paddington musical is now in the works, with McFly's Tom Fletcher penning the songs. As the 2014 comedy is aired on TV again this Christmastime, we take a look at the real tragedies behind the star-studded cast - from Julie Walters' cancer to Hugh Bonneville's difficult divorce.
Julie Walters
Julie Walters (left) was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer (Youtube/RottenTomatoesTRAILERS)Dame Julie Walters, who stars as Mrs Bird, revealed in 2020 that she had been secretly battling stage three bowel cancer. The award-winning actress, 73, had surgery and chemotherapy following her life-changing diagnosis in 2018.
She has since had the all-clear from doctors but couldn't believe it when they initially told her what was wrong. Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire, she said: "I was still thinking, 'That's ridiculous, he must have made a mistake'. I couldn't believe it."
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The Harry Potter star visited her GP with indigestion and discomfort the year before, and was referred to a gastric surgeon, who gave her a CT scan. They discovered two primary tumours in her large intestine and during surgery, removed 30cm of her colon.
Recalling the moment she told her husband, Grant Roffey, about the sad news, she recalled: "I'll never forget his face. And tears came into his eyes and I thought, 'Oh Grant!' So I then worried about him, more than [me]."
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman plays the icy-hearted villain, Millicent. While the Australian actress, 55, is often pictured with her youngest children, her relationship with her eldest is strained to say the least.
She shares Connor, 28, and Bella, 30, with her ex-husband Tom Cruise, after they adopted them in the nineties. Following their split, their loyalties reportedly lay with the Top Gun star and they chose to live with him and be part of Scientology.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, pictured in 1996, adopted Bella and Connor (Getty Images)
Nicole revealed her children don't refer to her as 'mum' (AFP via Getty Images)In the year before she was last pictured with the pair, in 2007 she revealed the pair refused to call her 'mum'. "My kids don't call me mommy, they don't even call me mom. They call me Nicole, which I hate and tell them off for it," she said.
More recently, in 2018, Nicole spoke about her desire to keep the lives of her children private and reiterated her love for whatever they choose in life. Nicole explained: "I have to protect those relationships. I know 150 per cent that I would give up my life for my children because it's what my purpose is. They are adults. They are able to make their own decisions. They have made choices to be Scientologists and, as a mother, it's my job to love them."
However the kids have rubbished rumours of a family feud, and have publicly expressed their love for their mum, with Bella telling MailOnline in 2016: "Of course [we talk], they're my parents".
Hugh Bonneville
A few months ago, Hugh Bonneville, who plays Henry Brown in Paddington, split from his wife of 25 years, Lucinda. The couple married in 1998 and share 22-year-old son Felix.
Hugh reportedly instigated their separation and Lulu was left distraught. A local claimed to The Sun that they'd seen the heartbroken wife break the news to her friends in a pub whilst in tears. "She got incredibly emotional talking about the break-up," they said.
Hugh split from his wife of 25 years a few months ago (Getty Images)Meanwhile, another insider claims that Hugh sat her down one night to declare that it was all over. "It came totally out of the blue," they told the paper. Lulu had never let her husband's fame get in the way of their marriage and believed they had a solid foundation after meeting as teenagers.
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She said in 2012: "I don't take any notice. I don't notice women fawning over him - although I know everybody talks about it. Don't forget, we met as teenagers and have a lot of history. We're not fazed by the glitz of the showbusiness world. We are just home-loving people and don't make a habit of hanging out at celebrity parties."
Sally Hawkins
Sally, who stars as Mrs Mary Brown, has come a long way on her journey to the top. Ever since she was a child, the award-winning actress has been painfully shy but along with her crippling nerves, her dyslexia has made learning lines a challenge.
On top of her struggles, the 47-year-old also has lupus, an autoimmune disease causing chronic fatigue. Opening up about her struggles with dyslexia, Sally told the Mirror in 2018: "It can be quite bad sometimes. I flip lines and sight-reading [performing an unrehearsed script] is terrifying."
And facing lupus with the same stoicism, she explained: "I do get quite tired but I don't let it stop me. I've been very lucky with it, for the most part. I'm not crippled with it, like some people. I just have to take it steady."
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