Celia Imrie’s Hidden Mother Tribute in Spielberg’s Thursday Murder Club Film

Oct, 9 2025

When Celia Imrie, actress stepped onto the set of The Thursday Murder Club in early 2024, she wasn’t just slipping into the role of Joyce Meadowcroft – she was quietly weaving a personal homage to her late mother into every costume rack and kitchen cabinet. The Netflix‑produced film, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Richard Osman’s 2020 bestseller, premiered globally on Netflix in 2025. Filming wrapped at Crockham Hill Retirement Village in Kent, England, between January 15 and April 28, 2024, and the production’s meticulous set design became a canvas for Imrie’s secret tributes.

Behind the Role: Personal Tributes to a Mother

In an exclusive interview with the London Evening Standard on October 3, 2024, Imrie revealed that production designer James Merrifield built Joyce’s apartment from the ground up, allowing the cast to "add little things" that reflected their characters’ personalities. Imrie chose to honor her mother, who passed away in 2010, by slipping a series of brooches, hand‑kerchiefs and even jars of homemade jam into Joyce’s larder. “It felt unusual but heavenly,” she said, describing how these details made the fictional retirement village feel like a lived‑in home.

The brooches, each bearing a different flower, were stitched into the character’s cardigan – a nod to the floral scarves her mother loved. A pastel‑blue handkerchief, tucked into Joyce’s kitchen drawer, carried the same pattern as a hand‑sewn napkin her mother used at family gatherings. And the jam jars? They weren’t just props; they were literal versions of the strawberry preserve her mom made every summer.

The Film’s Journey from Page to Screen

Osman’s novel spent 13 consecutive weeks atop the UK bestseller list and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide by December 2023, according to Nielsen BookScan. Yet, Imrie admitted she deliberately avoided reading the book until the day she was offered the part. “I raced down to the bookshop and bought 12 copies,” she recalled to Town & Country Magazine on September 28, 2024. “I didn’t want to be spooked – I wanted my first encounter with Joyce to be pure imagination.”

That decision, she believes, helped her bring an organic freshness to the performance, a quality Spielberg, whose career has been dominated by Hollywood blockbusters, found refreshing in a contemporary British mystery.

Production Design and Authenticity

Merrifield’s collaborative approach extended beyond décor. He consulted with local retirees at the real‑life Crockham Hill site to capture authentic quirks – from the squeak of a garden gate to the exact shade of the community’s garden‑party tables. Imrie’s input on the kitchen’s “little jams” sparked a broader discussion among the design team about integrating personal histories into set dressing, a technique rarely seen in large‑scale streaming productions.

The result is a visual tapestry that feels both cozy and investigative, mirroring the novel’s blend of humor and suspense. Even the lighting was tuned to highlight the amber glow of the jam jars, subtly emphasizing the theme of preserving memories – a meta‑commentary on both the story and Imrie’s own tribute.

Audience Anticipation and International Appeal

During a 2023 book‑tour across the United States, Imrie noted that American readers were "aching for the film" – a sentiment that underscores the transatlantic fascination with quintessentially British mysteries. She observed a surge of social‑media buzz, with hashtags like #ThursdayMurderClub trending in London and New York alike, and pre‑release surveys indicating that 68 % of Netflix subscribers in the U.K. and 54 % in the U.S. marked the film as a must‑watch.

Critics have praised Spielberg’s decision to tackle a modern British whodunit, calling it a "delightful departure" from his usual epic fare. The film’s marketing team, led by Netflix’s global content division, leveraged the ensemble cast – featuring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley – to position the project as a prestige‑driven, yet accessible, holiday‑season release.

What Lies Ahead for Imrie

Beyond Joyce Meadowcroft, Imrie is busy wrapping season three of The Diplomat for Netflix and gearing up for the third season of the reality‑drama The Traitors, both slated for 2025 releases. When asked whether she might ever retire, she laughed, "I’m certainly not planning on it. At 71, I still feel the rush of a good mystery."

Her fascination with true‑crime documentaries – she admits to binge‑watching them in her downtime – provides a contrast to the light‑hearted sleuthing of The Thursday Murder Club, keeping her creative instincts sharpened.