Celia Imrie put on a motorcycle helmet and leathers for a dash across London from the premiere of her new film to the theatre where she is starring in a play.
Ticket-holders for last night's performance of the acclaimed Noises Off at the Old Vic were warned it would start 30 minutes late.
Imrie, 59, was on the red carpet at the Curzon Mayfair cinema with Judi Dench and Bill Nighy for the showing of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. She then jumped on the back of a motorbike for an "exhilarating" ride to Waterloo.
She said: "The trip was thrilling. I'm glad it wasn't any longer getting there though - I was going round the bend. Then again I've spent most of my life going round the bend."
She said Noises Off and the film premiere were "twin delights" she could not miss.
"I had to attend both. I couldn't possibly have sat and watched the film knowing Noises Off was going on. But also, I had to do the red carpet. It's the most thrilling bit of a premiere."
She may have turned up in an unorthodox way but Imrie departed in style as she was whisked back to the premiere in a limousine after the show. She added: "Obviously I had to arrive in leathers but I left wearing my party gear." The Curzon Mayfair was decked out with floral garlands for the screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The film sees a group of British pensioners move to India to check into a seemingly luxurious retirement home. Dench said she enjoyed "a love affair" with the country, adding: "Within a day or two days I was not just bewitched by it, but I was completely addicted to it." The film, which also stars Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and newcomer Tena Desae, is in cinemas from
February 24.
