Oliver Reed's widow to marry

The widow of actor Oliver Reed and Walter Ryan-Purcell, the manager of a recycling factory, are to marry in the summer, the bridegroom-to-be said today.

Reed, as famous for his larger-than-life character and hell-raising antics as for his critically-acclaimed acting, died while filming the blockbuster epic Gladiator in Malta in May 1999.

Mr Ryan-Purcell said he and Reed’s widow Josephine - the actor and his wife had a home in scenic Co Cork - were planning a summer wedding at his 17th century ancestral mansion in the village of Churchtown.

Mr Ryan-Purcell said he proposed to Josephine Reed beside a beautiful Co Cork bay, but only after having first asked, ‘‘in true Irish fashion’’, for her mother’s approval.

The couple will live together in the country house, a mile from the village, which Reed and Josephine had shared after they moved to Co Cork several years ago.

Mr Ryan-Purcell said: ‘‘We are going to get married here in Churchtown on July 21.

‘‘The wedding plans are pretty much worked out by this stage. There is a company organising the whole thing, so we don’t have to worry about it.

‘‘We will be living in her house in Churchtown. Herself and Oliver Reed moved there six of seven years ago.’’

Instead of Josephine wearing an engagement ring, he had decided to keep their plans secret by giving her a horse, he said.

He added: ‘‘I asked her mother first in true Irish fashion. I actually proposed to Josephine a couple of months ago on the waterfront in Glandore, in west Cork.

‘‘There is a lovely little bay there and we had just gone there for the day. We are soul mates, there was no question about that from day one.’’

The couple - both are aged 37 - met 10 months after Reed’s death.

Today is the second anniversary of his funeral.

Mr Ryan-Purcell said: ‘‘Josephine is on terrific form, bubbling with life.’’

He described his keen interest in horses as ‘‘just a hobby’’ and said he worked as the manager of a recycling factory.