Dame Helen Mirren has opened up on her past relationship with Liam Neeson.
The actress and Ballymena man lived together for four years in the 1980s. They both worked on the film Excalibur.
In a new exclusive interview with AARP, the 77-year-old said Neeson is an "amazing guy".
Read more: Liam Neeson named as highest-grossing Irish movie star
She said: “We loved each other. We were not meant to be together in that way, but we loved each other very, very much.
"I love him deeply to this day. He’s such an amazing guy.”
Helen also opened up on how making clothes is a hobby of hers, and was asked if she made a shirt for the famous Taken actor.
“I did make one for Liam, oddly enough," she said.
The pair previously appeared on The Graham Norton Show in 2018, with Dame Helen saying: "We were a serious item for a while."
Neeson said: "I remember Ciarán Hinds and myself, we did this film Excalibur together, 1980."
Dame Helen replied: "Our first movie for all of us really, wasn't it?"
Liam said: "But I remember being out of the set, this was Ardmore Studios in Dublin, and Helen, she was filming, but she was in costume and we were there just visiting. We hadn't started work yet."
The pair were then asked if they wanted to meet the actress.
Neeson continued: "I said, yeah, I would love to'. So she walked from like 100 yards away dressed as Morgana le Fay... and Ciarán is my oldest friend. And we both went, f***.
"So I was smitten. I think Ciarán was smitten too. I was certainly smitten."
Dame Helen replied: "I never knew that, You've never told me that before. That's amazing."
Neeson later married Natasha Richardson in 1994. The English actress was just 45 when she was killed in a tragic skiing accident in Canada in 2009.
The pair share two sons, Micheál and Daniel.
Previously speaking to Inquirer.net Neeson said: "I speak to her every day at her grave which is about a mile and half down the road [in New York].
“I go down there quite often, so I do speak to her as if she’s here. Not that she answers me."
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