Liam Neeson was ‘smitten’ with ex Helen Mirren when they met

They were reunited on the Graham Norton Show.

Liam Neeson has told how he was "smitten" from the moment he met his ex-girlfriend, Helen Mirren. The duo were together in the early 1980s after they met on the set of the 1981 film, Excalibur. Once they were reunited on The Graham Norton show on Friday, Mirren was keen to emphasise the seriousness of their relationship. When asked about their relationship, she said:

“We didn’t date, we lived together for four years – we were a serious item for a while. “Lucky me!”

And it was love at first sight for the Taken actor when it came to meeting the Calendar Girls actress. He recalled:

“I remember being on the set and standing with Ciarán Hinds as Helen walked towards us dressed in her full Morgana Le Fey costume and we both went, ‘Oh f—.' “I was smitten. I think Ciarán was too but I was very smitten!”

https://twitter.com/TheGNShow/status/954359248749723649 Mirren replied:

“I never knew that. You’ve never told me that before – it’s amazing.”

The Ballymena native also joked about how he knew the State of Play star fancied him while they were filming. He said:

“Before I met her and we worked together, I had read somewhere that if she fancied a guy she would imitate his walk behind his back. "I turned around one day and she was doing that to me."

The Graham Norton Show will air on BBC One at 10.35pm on Friday.