It’s 10.30am and Miranda Richardson has just returned home from a refreshing swim at The Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park - and already feels like she’s had a full day.
"I’m sitting in my garden staring at my Koi fish surrounded by plants and all is good. It’s a gorgeous morning," the award-winning actress says in this exclusive interview with HELLO!.
Miranda, who is best known for her roles in Blackadder, Empire of the Sun, The Crying Game and Sleepy Hollow, is training for a wild swimming challenge.
Along with fellow actor Maggie Service, she will tackle a 3.5km swim on 9 August in Norfolk in aid of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
"I’m a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club and it’s really quite convenient – other than having your own swimming pool – and it’s much nicer because you’ve got the birds in the big sky and some really interesting people," she tells us.
"It’s a lovely thing to be swimming 2ft from a Grebe or a swan. They don’t bother you and you don’t bother them."
Miranda, 67, adds: "This morning I requested a distance swim and [my trainer] John was absolutely thrilled with me, so I’ve got a lot of brownie points."
She trains up to three times a week, mixing steady swims and speed bursts to build stamina. She is glad to have Maggie with her for the challenge. "It’s the two of us and we’re supporting each other, doing this for a cause – it’s not about getting there first," she says.
Love of wild swimming
Alongside their swim in Norfolk’s River Glaven from Blakeney Harbour to Pinchen’s Creek, the actresses are aiming to raise £100,000 for WWF’s work and to encourage people to get outdoors.
"We’re stitching together landscapes as we swim," Miranda says.
"It’s [raising] awareness of rivers, salt marshes and open water, and the different habitats and species within them."
She discovered her passion for wild swimming in 2020 while filming in Ireland, and finds the activity both "addictive" and "transgressive".
She has become used to the chill of the water.
"You sort of crave it," she says, confessing that she is often tempted to take a dip in forbidden spots. "Wherever you are and there’s a little body of water, you’re looking at it sideways thinking, 'I could get in there'."
Famous characters
Miranda’s breakthrough was starring as Queen Elizabeth I in the TV comedy Blackadder alongside Rowan Atkinson in the Eighties.
She looks back fondly on the role: "I think it was well-written, and we were also allowed to contribute. There’s a familiarity there, like donning an old jacket."
More recently, she has been working on the upcoming Wallis Simpson biopic, The Bitter End, with Joan Collins and Charles Dance.
"It was only a handful of days [filming] but it was an experience!" she says.
"The day I did a scene with Joan, there couldn’t have been more obstacles to overcome.
"It was the end-of-the-day dining room scene, and any actor knows what that means – there were only two of us but there were people coming in and out with food at particular times, somebody lighting a cigarette for Joan, and five pugs.
"The pugs were the most professional performers on the day of all of us – everybody else was a bit feral, quite honestly, but we got it done!"
She adds: "Working with Mike Newell [the director of Four Weddings and a Funeral] for the fourth time was lovely – he loves women, so he was in heaven because he was surrounded by women."
Dream roles
She is also working on The Queen of Style, which charts the life of the renowned fashion editor Isabella Blow, a project ten years in the planning.
"The wonderful Andrea Riseborough is playing Izzy Blow and the absolutely charming and enigmatic Dane DeHaan is playing Detmar Blow. Lovely Richard E Grant plays her dad, Evelyn, and I’m playing Helen, her mum, who was really quite a force – the first woman to be called to the bar ever, at age 18."
She adds: "I was in Wales [filming] the other day, and everyone was absolutely delightful."
Miranda has played a diverse list of roles but are there any she still dreams of?
"I’d like to do something where I get to travel, possibly on horseback for great stretches of time, with dogs and wild creatures around.
"Thankfully, I’m not old enough to play this person yet but there’s a wonderful story of a woman in her eighties called Jane Dotchin. She does a yearly trek across Scotland on her pony called Diamond with her Jack Russell Dinky in a little side-saddle bag."
An animal lover herself, Miranda has a cat named Daphne and two German pointers, Louis and Numi – and, of course, her Koi carp.
"I’m not a hoarder by any means, but I go, 'Oh, I think they need a couple more companions.'"
Since becoming a wild swimming enthusiast, she has gathered a few tips for people looking to take the plunge.
"Go with somebody," she says. "It can be a lone activity but make sure you know what you’re doing. Don’t do anything stupid – check temperatures, have stuff nearby to change into speedily, particularly headgear.
"Counter to what most people think, you don’t get into a hot shower as soon as you can. Have a hot drink and that warms up your core, then later you can have a nice leisurely shower."
Sage advice indeed from the BAFTA-winning actress.
To support Miranda & Maggie’s Wild Swim Mission and help them reach their £100,000 goal, visit: justgiving.com/campaign/wwf-wild-swim
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.