Oliver Reed's widow remarries in Cork

The widow of actor Oliver Reed is set to marry her country squire fiance in the grounds of his ancestral home in Co Cork today.

The widow of actor Oliver Reed is set to marry her country squire fiancé in the grounds of his ancestral home in Co Cork today.

Reed, as famous for his hellraising antics as for his critically-acclaimed acting, died while filming the blockbuster epic Gladiator in Malta in May 1999.

Though his widow Josephine has said she never thought then she would meet another man, today she was marrying Walter Ryan-Purcell - who describes the pair as ‘‘soulmates’’.

Father Patrick Joseph Twohig, who is conducting the service, said: ‘‘Josephine doesn’t want it elaborate. They are not doing much in the way of music, just three hymns. She doesn’t want it any more fussy than that.’’

It is understood she was to wear a suit and, being a member of the Church of England, Fr Twohig said they needed dispensation from the local bishop for the service to go ahead.

The arrangements were planned months in advance by a private company and hundreds of guests were expected to attend.

Fr Twohig said: ‘‘We have already had a couple of celebrations in the tent they have put on the lawn - like English aristocratic weddings the celebrations will last a week.

‘‘The stag party was last Saturday in Oliver’s favourite pub - he told me he wanted to die in there.

‘‘They drank all night and Walter just managed to get in to mass the next morning.’’

The pair, both 37, met 10 months after Reed’s death and he proposed to her this spring during a day trip to a scenic bay in Glandore, in west Cork - after first asking, ‘‘in true Irish fashion’’, for her mother’s approval.

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

They plan to live in the house she and Reed bought when they moved to the area seven years ago.

Fr Twohig said: ‘‘Oliver Reed was a very nice fellow. He wasn’t such a bad egg as is said.

‘‘He was quite shy and he used to need a few shots for Dutch courage. Drink set him off but he was a decent chap and very kind.’’

Fr Twohig described Josephine as ‘‘a very quiet laid-back person’’.

He said: ‘‘She is extremely happy about the wedding. She had a tough life with him in a way but she stood up to him and looked after him.

‘‘She used to do Shakespeare for the local yokels in the pub when Oliver had had a few drinks.

‘‘Now she seems rather free - breathing easy at last and pleased to have a new life.’’