The day I made Joanna Lumley cry — and why it was worth it
The Absolutely Fabulous star’s spontaneous tears helped highlight the full horror of live animal exports, which were finally banned last year
Imagine working with a major celebrity and then finding that you’ve made them cry! Well, 30 years ago, that’s just what happened when working with national treasure Dame Joanna Lumley.
I feared she’d never forgive me. I still feel bad about it now. My team had worked for days thinking about ways to catch the imagination of media photographers about a major animal welfare issue. We came up with ideas like asking Joanna to stand with a lifelike model animal or in front of a catchy slogan. But we needn’t have bothered.
Watching investigative footage for the first time at a press conference, Joanna came face-to-face with the reality for calves and sheep of long-distance, live-export journeys. Her reaction was spontaneous. Pictures of her tears were splashed across major newspapers the next day. The point was made.
Joanna’s tears were far from in vain. Along with so many other kind-hearted people, she’d stood up to be counted. And it made a difference. Live animal exports were finally banned from Britain last year.
Fame doesn’t matter
Fast forward three decades and Dame Joanna took time out of her phenomenally busy schedule to reflect on her own incredible journey and the impact of her celebrity status. Our on-stage conversation at the Oxford Literary Festival was so insightful, I just had to share it with you here.
Joanna told me: “Being famous is of no importance at all. Except when you can use it. Fame means that newspapers will come along to something. Take photographs of something. Report on something.”
And boy, has she used her fame to great effect. Standing up for animals and other great causes at every opportunity, with a unique gift for delivering hard-hitting messages with sensitivity, charm, and wit.
Best known for her role as Purdey in The New Avengers and later as the iconic Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, her exploits for animals have been no less remarkable.
Joanna has pretty much done it all. She drove a red tractor through the streets of London in a protest that culminated at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, highlighting the plight of farmed animals.
She brandished chains used to pin breeding pigs to the floor for months — a practice now banned. She even allowed herself to be locked in cages. And, in one memorable act, she walked a piglet called Babe to Westminster to urge MPs to grant legal recognition to the sentience of animals (which they then did).
Big-hearted dedication
Joanna’s charity work spans a remarkable range of causes, showcasing her dedication to making a difference. She is a passionate advocate for animal welfare, supporting organisations like the Born Free Foundation and Compassion in World Farming.
Her humanitarian efforts include backing the Free Tibet Campaign and mental health charity Mind. She is well known for her pivotal role in the Gurkha Justice Campaign, successfully fighting for the rights of Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK.
Her unwavering commitment to various causes, from wildlife conservation to human rights, highlights her compassionate spirit and tireless advocacy for those in need, including the animals with whom we share this lonely planet.
For the love of life
Joanna has loved animals since the year dot, something she puts down to her mum, who passed on a passionate appreciation of the natural world.
“Whenever we went for walks, we had to look to see which birds were singing, which trees were leafing, when the corn was standing, when the apples were ripe, and the rosehips were turning. When you could do this or couldn’t do that. And to understand animal rights and respect them,” she said.
Joanna has long felt concerned that we were doing animals a massive injustice, particularly those reared for food. Often reared in huge numbers behind closed doors, never seeing the sky above them or the grass under their feet, intensively reared chickens, pigs, and cows pay a high price for ‘cheap’ meat.
“Something is badly wrong when chicken and chips is cheaper than a salad,” she said.
Margarita and peanuts
Moving on from pet hates to top favourites, I asked about her favourite food, which turns out to be green and crunchy lettuce, as well as salted peanuts and Margarita.
Her favourite ways to relax involve reading, walking, being with her husband and friends, and gardening. “I’m a poor gardener, but a keen one,” she admitted.
Pigs are her favourite animal. Memories of that piglet who stayed at her home briefly before they trotted off to Parliament together clearly left a mark. “That little pig, Babe. Clever. Yeah, smarter than anything you can imagine. She spent the night with me. Used the train. Came back and slept beside me when I was writing,” Joanna recalled.
Reasons for hope
So, what gives her hope that we’ll do better by animals in the future? “When one sees gorgeous films like Blue Planet, when one sees underwater filming of billions of fish, of starling murmurations. It’s wonderful,” she said.
“We can connect with the natural world, if we don’t keep being plugged into screens. People can change in a nanosecond. That’s what we have to hope for. The sudden realisation that people ‘get it’, the beauty and love we should have for life.”
Thirty years on from that tearful moment, Joanna Lumley’s unwavering dedication to animal welfare serves as a powerful reminder of the difference one person can make. Her journey from actress to activist continues to inspire and advocate for a kinder world.
Philip Lymbery is chief executive of Compassion in World Farming, president of EuroGroup for Animals, and a UN Food Systems Advisory Board member. His latest book is Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future. Philip is on X/Twitter @philip_ciwf
Note: This article was first published in The Scotsman on Friday 21st February, 2025
