In the week of the actor’s funeral, a family friend remembers Sunday lunches, photoshoots and first nights with a woman of extraordinary wit, talent and compassion

I first met Maggie through my husband, Robert Fox, the film and theatre producer. He’d first met her in 1974, when he was 22 and she was starring in Snap, a comedy about venereal disease. His task was to drive her to and from the theatre and generally hold her hand, which he remembers as enthralling and terrifying.

But they hit it off: she trusted his taste and he went on to produce her in 10 plays over 22 years, including Lettice and Lovage and The Importance of Being Earnest. That was a huge hit back in 1993 – the year I met Robert – but Maggie famously loathed everything about it, from Nicholas Hytner’s direction to Bob Crowley’s sets. When asked by the Mail’s showbiz correspondent whether she’d take the show to Broadway, she responded: “Broadway? I wouldn’t take this to Woking!”