Richard E. Grant, one of the UK's most beloved actors, continues to write to his late wife Joan Washington every night, years after her death from lung cancer in 2021. The 69-year-old screen icon, now a contestant on Celebrity Traitors, has been open about his grief and enduring connection with Washington, a renowned Hollywood dialect coach.
Who was Joan Washington?
Washington was a revered dialect coach with a career spanning nearly 40 years. Born in Aberdeen and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, she worked across theatre, television, and film, helping actors master accents and character voices. Her credits included Yentl, The Bounty, Highlander, and The Favourite, and she coached stars such as Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, and Thandiwe Newton.
Grant met Washington at the Actor's Centre in London in the early 1980s. In a 1994 interview with the Independent, he recalled: 'She was wearing a boiler suit and had fairly short, cropped hair and Kicker shoes, and was chain-smoking, which I thought was insane. She was teaching an accent session with a bunch of actors, and I thought she had the most wonderful voice and huge, sort of monkey eyes. She seemed fairly frenetic. I thought that she was really cute and all that. It was December 1982.'
Their enduring love story
Despite initial impressions—Washington found Grant 'quite annoying' as he got the giggles at inappropriate moments—their relationship endured. They married in 1986 and had a daughter, Olivia, in 1989. Washington also had a son, Tom, from a previous marriage to Keith Washington. The couple also suffered the loss of a prematurely born daughter, Tiffany, before Olivia was born.
Grant has spoken proudly of Washington's strength and personality, revealing intimate details in his 2023 memoir A Pocket Full of Happiness. When they first met, she was the more established name, and he recalled how difficult she found it when his fame grew and people treated her simply as his wife. In 2019, when Grant was Oscar-nominated for Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Washington refused to attend the ceremony because she didn't want to be the plus one again—something he understood.
Grief and remembrance
After her death, Grant has described Washington as a constant presence. In 2024, he told The Guardian: 'I write to her every night. [I write down] everything. Stuff I know would amuse her… I have no spiritual or religious delusion that I'm ever going to get a reply. But after 38 years of marriage, I can hear what her response would be. It feels as close a connection as I can have. And I've found it very hopeful, that at the end of the day I'm having a conversation.'
In September, shortly before his Celebrity Traitors run, Grant shared a tribute on the fifth anniversary of her death, admitting he 'no longer remembers the last eight months' of her life. Sharing a clip from Nigel Slater's A Taste of Your Life, he wrote: 'THANK YOU for ALL your compassionate messages on my late wife's 5th Anniversary. The wonderful trick of memory is that I no longer remember her final 8 months, but rather her Life enhancing vibrancy and humour.'
Celebrity Traitors season 2 launches on Thursday October 1 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
