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  • The Happy Hoofer

  • By: Celia Imrie
  • Narrated by: Celia Imrie
  • Length: 11 hrs
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (710 ratings)
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The Happy Hoofer cover art

The Happy Hoofer

By: Celia Imrie
Narrated by: Celia Imrie
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Summary

One of our best-loved actresses, Celia Imrie would rather have been a dancer. As a child she planned to join the Royal Ballet and marry Rudolf Nureyev. Now she has become one of our finest and funniest performers, on stage, TV and screen - adored for her roles in 'Acorn Antiques' and 'dinnerladies', as well as films including 'Calendar Girls' and 'Nanny McPhee'.

In her hugely entertaining autobiography, Celia Imrie recounts a life hurtling (not always intentionally) into adventures both on stage and off. Whether it's finding herself on stage with half the scenery stuck to her cardigan, or being kidnapped on her way to location, she somehow emerges from the chaos that can lie in her wake almost unscathed.

Acting, she admits, is a mad, chaotic profession and it is her refreshing honesty, sense of mischief, fun and almost unruffled determination in the face of it all that makes this autobiography a never-ending delight.

©2011 Celia Imrie (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Happy Hoofer

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A delightful book

Whenever I go to the theatre I feel grateful that actors are willing to put up with this peripatetic and uncertain life to entertain the rest of us. For some it leads to anguish, however, this highly entertaining book describes a largely happy and fulfilled life by this versatile and popular actress. In interviews she comes over as someone with an impish sense of humour who doesn’t take herself too seriously, but is dedicated and hard-working in her professional life, and the book reinforces these impressions.

She writes well and at times the book is very funny when she describes some of the more outlandish events in her life and travels.

Needless to say it’s an added pleasure that she reads her own words and, being a good mimic, makes some of her encounters with other people even more lively and funny at times.

A highly recommended listen that left me with a happy feeling.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting and a bit quirky

If you like biographies of actors, and if you like Celia Imrie, then you will like this. It contains a reasonable amount of insights into Imrie's personal life: her backgound, her likes and dislikes and the trajectory of her career. It is well written and well read and there is no more name dropping than normal. There are also some very interesting apects to her family history that I was unaware of, which have clearly coloured her life. It is not a kiss and tell memoir, although for some reason I felt that it could have gone that way, had it not been that she wrote it whilst looking after her teenage son, whom she would not wish to embarass. After reading this book, I respect Celia Imrie for her individuality and I think I like her all the more for it.

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Very funny, honest and insightful. Beautifully read by Celia Imrie. What a charming wiity book

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • E
  • 21-04-16

Intriguing life lots I didn't know about her

In the beginning I felt Celia was just reading her book out loud with no real feeling but she got into it and it soon felt like she was reading it to me. She has had an interesting journey through acting. Highs and lows and family dramas all over the place.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

An honest book

I admire Celia Imrie's acting and I enjoyed this book. It is beautifully read, as you'd expect. I had a sense that we're getting very much the public Celia, but then I thought that this is actually a very dignified way to have written the book: it's not tabloid, and nor is she. In fact I was unaware of the odd tabloid intrusions she has had to deal with in the past, to which she does refer. I loved the stories about fellow actors most. Lovely insights and observations.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting

The narration was excellent, it was interesting but struggled at times not to abandon it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Happiness is a state of mind

Celia Imrie captures the joy to be found in life whatever the circumstance and experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book catching glimpses into a world far removed from mine.

Thank you for sharing your memories with us Celia.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • B
  • 08-09-22

Fantastic listen. Wonderfully funny and down to earth.

It was fun from start to finish listening to this audiobook by Celia Imrie.

She’s a great narrator and a real sort of the Earth, she holds no bars and takes no prisoners.

It was a real insight into the acting world and what one person has to endure to become famous.

I highly recommend this audiobook and look forward to more work from her in the future.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Blissful

A well crafted read that kept me engaged from start to finish an honest account of a life well lived with highs and lows, happiness, sadness all enabling the reader to have an insight into the life of this wonderful actress.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dance to the end, live live

Enjoyed every moment,what a lot Celia has seen & done,It makes my nursing proffession, look a very ordered life.But each to his own.

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1 person found this helpful