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Addressing the tension Hardy had admitted to Buchanan: ‘In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times.
‘What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me.
‘That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.’
Meanwhile it was revealed on Wednesday that Helen had been accosted in the street by a pro-Palestine stranger calling her an ‘evil Zionist b**ch’.
Corbynista Tom Carroll, from north London, has a history of posting abusive anti-Semitic material online and was engaged in haranguing Dame Helen and her husband Taylor Hackford in the capital.
The video, first posted by an anonymous account called Anti-Fascist Action UK, shows the Oscar-winning actress being approached as she walked along the street in London with her husband.
At first, the Thursday Murder Club star appeared calm and polite, smiling as she greeted the man and asked if he was okay.
But the encounter quickly escalated as the stranger launched into an abusive tirade over the actress’s support for Israel.
He said: ‘And there is Helen Mirren the avowed Zionist. You said Israel should last forever because of the Holocaust. And she was very happy the Palestinians’ houses were gone.
‘You are an evil Zionist b**h. And you [Mr Hackford] as well, f*** you as well.’
The video was originally posted in November 2025, in a longer form, and only by the @antifascistactionuk account.
On Wednesday the same account reposted the clip, confirming that the operator of the Instagram account had shot the video.
The Daily Mail has established that the Instagram account is linked to a YouTube and PayPal account run by Carroll, who was tagged in an Instagram post linking him with the @antifascistactionuk account.
Yesterday an X account called GnasherJew – a digital investigation team using open source intelligence to expose anti-Semites – named Carroll publicly, posting: ‘The individual behind the antifascistactionuk’s account on Instagram who reportedly called Helen Mirren ‘evil Zionist b**ch’ has been identified as Tom Carroll.’
Dame Helen has long been outspoken in her support for Israel and opposition to cultural boycotts against the country.
Just last month, she signed an open letter alongside stars including Amy Schumer, Mila Kunis, Sharon Osbourne and Boy George backing Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The actress has also portrayed several notable Jewish figures on screen, including Maria Altmann in Woman in Gold and former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir in the 2023 film Golda.
Speaking previously about Israel, Mirren said: ‘I believe in Israel, in the existence of Israel, and I believe Israel has to go forward into the future, for the rest of eternity… I believe in Israel because of the Holocaust.’