Dame Emma Thompson [Netflix]

LOVE Actually film star Dame Emma Thompson agreed to become the patron of a Caledonian Road youth charity last month when she popped by to be interviewed for a podcast.

Dame Emma, 64, has been working with Prospex in Piper Close since she filmed an episode for the BBC’s The One Show about food inequality there in 2019. When she was asked to be patron she told the charity workers she thought she already was.

“She’s kind of been a supporter of us ever since 2019, but we’ve never officially asked her to be a patron and it was like, ‘Well, you’ve been supporting us since then and popping in and you clearly like what we do,’ so I thought I’d just make it official and ask her!” said CEO Richard Frankland, known as Beef, when he popped the question on July 27.

“I thought I already was!” was her response, he said, laughing.

Dame Emma, whose son Tindy Agaba went to City and Islington College in Angel, was recording a podcast with service user Hope, 15, who interviewed her about her life. The podcast will be released on Monday, with another to be recorded with her in October.

Prospex already has two other patrons, the journalist Amol Rajan and publisher John Haynes.

Speaking about their newest addition, Mr Frankland said: “It’s fantastic for us as a charity, because, obviously, she will attract interest. But also she’s just great because it really excites the young people when she comes, it’s a real buzz. She spends time with them when she comes down, and whoever’s in the building.”

He said the children recognised the Oscar-winning actress for her work in children’s films, most notably Matilda, Nanny McPhee and the Harry Potter films.