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Celia Imrie says treatment for anorexia as a teenager was ‘horrible time’

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Cite

O'Grady, S. (2026, September 21). Celia Imrie says treatment for anorexia as a teenager was ‘horrible time’. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/celia-imrie-royal-ballet-school-lambeth-saga-nice-b1297851.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-21 · by Sean O'Grady

Quick Summary

Celia Imrie recounts her experience with anorexia treatment as a teenager, describing it as a “horrible time” due to harsh methods including electroconvulsive therapy and heavy medication. She also mentions facing sexism early in her acting career and discusses how she overcame significant health challenges, including pulmonary embolisms, through personal resilience and the support of external factors like a trip to France.
Written by AI on 2026-09-22, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Celia Imrie, a British actress, shared her experience of being hospitalized for anorexia at age 14. She described her treatment as a "horrible time," particularly mentioning the involvement of psychiatrist Sidney Bloch, who was featured in Jon Stock's book The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal due to his use of electroconvulsive therapy and heavy medication on patients.

Imrie recalled waking up one day determined to get better after a nurse challenged her by saying she was occupying a bed that could be given to someone more seriously ill. This encounter motivated Imrie to recover from anorexia. She also mentioned facing sexism early in her acting career when a male colleague made inappropriate comments about her T-shirt.

Additionally, Imrie discussed her recent health issues, including two pulmonary embolisms, which left her unable to work for some time and led her to stop flying entirely due to the risks involved.

Written for “Anorexia Treatment Experience” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Anorexia Treatment Experience
Health · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8470 article(s) · 73 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 73 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Sean O'Grady
98 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Sean O'Grady
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 98 articles by Sean O'Grady →

Topics

France Nice

Subjects

Imrie PERSON · 3× Celia Imrie PERSON · 1× Churchill GPE · 1× France GPE · 1× Jon Stock PERSON · 1× Nice ORG · 1×

Narrative

Celia Imrie says treatment for anorexia as a teenager was ‘horrible time’ The psychiatrist was the subject of the book The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal by Jon Stock, which detailed his use of electroconvulsive therapy on patients, along with antipsychotic and sedative drugs.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 She said: “That was the best thing she could have said to me.
2026-09-22 · Evening Standard
Celia Imrie says treatment for anorexia as a teenager was ‘horrible time’ · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

Celia Imrie says treatment for anorexia as a teenager was ‘horrible time’ The psychiatrist was the subject of the book The Sleep Room: A Very British Medical Scandal by Jon Stock, which detailed his use of electroconvulsive therapy on patients, along with antipsychotic and sedative drugs. asserted
which → say → drugs
I can’t describe it. asserted
I → describe → it
I mean, it was a horrible time. asserted
it → mean → ?
“I do remember waking up one day and thinking: ‘I have to get myself out of here.’” Imrie said at 14, a nurse challenged her by saying she was taking the bed of a “really sick child”, which motivated her to get better. asserted
which → remember → her
She said: “That was the best thing she could have said to me. uncertain
she → say → me
What she said was a trigger. asserted
said → say → What
No, I hate using that word. asserted
I → use → word
Imrie also recalled the sexism she faced as a young actress in the 1970s, recalling an inappropriate remark from a male colleague who saw her wearing a T-shirt bearing the words The Best. asserted
her → recall → words
She said: “He gaped at my chest, licked his lips and said loudly: ‘Those are the best.’” asserted
Those → say → lips
Imrie also discussed how she no longer flies after suffering two pulmonary embolisms, a sudden and dangerous blockage in a blood vessel in the lungs. asserted
she → discuss → lungs
It left her unable to work for a time and she also struggled with her mental health until a trip to France changed things for the better. asserted
trip → leave → better
She said: “I liken my life to a game of snakes and ladders. asserted
I → say → snakes
It’s wonderful to go up the ladders, but there are snakes around the place and they come upon you sometimes when you’re not looking. asserted
you → ’ → you
Read More “I was on a snake at the time… asserted
I → read → time
Churchill used to call it the black dog. asserted
Churchill → use → it
“I went out for a baguette and came back with an apartment. asserted
I → go → apartment
“I do believe that with these sort of things, you are the one who can get yourself out of it. asserted
who → believe → it
With the help of the beauty of Nice, I picked myself up. asserted
I → pick → myself
It gave me that twist to get myself up again.” asserted
It → give → myself
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