‘Who wouldn’t want romance?’: Lesley Manville on portraying older relationships on screen and why there shouldn’t be an ‘age limit to falling in love’

Lesley Manville has been reflecting on the enduring popularity of her 2016 sitcom Mum, and the importance of portraying older relationships on screen.

The actress also rightly points out that there shouldn't be age limits when it comes to love and romance, whether on television or in real life.

Mum was written by the incredibly talented Stefan Golaszewski, the man behind 2010's comedy-drama Him & Her - the show was four seasons of utter perfection, starring the brilliantly cast Sarah Solemani and Russell Tovey in the lead roles.

After Him & Her came Mum, and then the more recent Babies. Both the latter two reflect the challenging feelings Golaszewski continues to work through from the years he and his wife suffered the trauma and grief of baby loss.

In Mum, Lesley Manville plays 59-year-old recently widowed Cathy. Audiences are introduced to her on the day of her husband Dave's funeral. The quiet and thoughtful Michael (Peter Mullan,) and old friend of Cathy and Dave, then spends three seasons slowly revealing that he has feelings for Cathy.

The series was a sweet, subtle ode to the love of two people in their 60s who also break boundaries of what is expected of people of their age.

"People tend to equate middle-aged people with not being naughty any more. But these two are and it’s just delightful," Lesley tells The Guardian of Cathy and Michael.

She continues, "From my experience of strangers talking to me about it, they were really pleased to see a love story about people who weren’t in their 20s or 30s."

The actress continues to share that the series is the "thing that people stop me to talk about the most." Lesley reveals, "Just this week, someone stopped me and said, 'Oh I love Mum, it was my favourite!', and they’re always asking, 'Are you gonna do any more?'"

Despite being happily single and not actively dating, Lesley still enjoys the idea of romance for those who want it. "I mean, who wouldn’t want romance?," she asks, continuing, "Who wouldn’t want somebody sharing, receiving, giving…"

She believes that in "this messed-up world we’re living in" it's a good thing to "keep it simple, just a little bit of good, honest, basic to and fro, love, romance."

In her own life, the actress has been divorced twice, and has spoken candidly about the devastation she felt when her first husband walked out on her three months after she gave birth.

Lesley wed Gary Oldman in 1987 and gave birth to their son Alfie in 1988 after falling pregnant on their honeymoon. Oldman walked out on his wife and son when Alfie was just three months old.

"We were having the most amazing time together and we loved each other," Lesley once said about her time with Oldman, adding, "We got married. I got pregnant on my honeymoon. We were having the best time, but then the rug was very severely pulled from under my feet..."

However, the actress knew she wasn't going to let the incident define or destroy her. "I wasn't going to fall apart. I didn't fall apart," she says. Lesley recalls, "There was absolutely no question about it for me that I was going to carry on working and I was going to be the most brilliant mother."

Despite what has happened in her own romantic life, Lesley's latest comments show how much she enjoys portraying love stories on screen. She also reiterates the importance of acted romance, and any love, being normalised as something that can happen at any age.

"I guess the big thing is, there is no age limit on falling in love," she says, simply.