CelebSpice

Anna Friel's house set on fire the first night she spent with her boyfriend.

The 'Pushing Daisies' actress - who has a four-year-old daughter Gracie with long-term partner David Thewlis - admits the incident meant their relationship escalated quickly and they moved in together within a week.

She said: "I thought he needed a big hug and hugged him. He came back to my house that night and we woke up to the house on fire.

"It was such a mess in the living room we closed the door and went into the bedroom for the next three days - he moved in two days later and never left."

Anna Friel, who has been spending some time treading the boards in the West End, has headed back to the States and nabbed a role alongside Bradley Cooper in Neil Burger’s drug thriller Dark Fields.

Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish are already aboard the film, which sees a washed-up writer (Cooper) stumbling upon a secret experimental drug that makes the user smarter.

Clearly having not read Flowers For Algernon, he takes it, and enjoys the social and financial success it offers, before realising it also comes with a lethal downside, including “trip-switching”, where time appears to move in a stop-motion style. Oh, and people are suddenly after him.

Friel will be playing his ex-wife, a woman who was a vibrant go-getter before they split. Wonder if she’ll help or hinder him?

The 'Pushing Daisies' actress has been with 'Harry Potter' actor David Thewlis - the father of her four-year-old daughter Gracie - for almost 10 years but would only consider marriage if he popped the question.

She said: "Our relationship is not conventional. He's 13 years older than me. We have our own separate properties and we're not married. He's my best friend. We have great conversations. I can ask him about anything and he'll always have the answer. He's smart and talented, two things that I'm attracted to.

"He's never asked me to marry him. It's never come up. I'm too old-fashioned to ask him. No way does a woman ask a man. I know some people do, but I couldn't."

Despite being happy now, the 33-year-old beauty insists she was never a hit with the boys when she was at school.

Anna Friel has been spotted locking lips with a co-star.

The actress, who is currently starring as Holly Golightly in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in London's West End, was photographed sharing a lingering kiss with John Cross, 23, at a London bar on Saturday night (05.12.09), days after they enjoyed an evening out with her partner David Thewlis.

An onlooker said: "They have a great chemistry on stage and are obviously close friends off it. But I was still surprised when I saw Anna plant him with a kiss on the lips."

However, despite their kiss, pals of the 33-year-old British beauty insist there is nothing romantic going on between her and John.

A pal said: "Anna is queen of touchy feely - but they're just good friends."

Anna - who has a four-year-old daughter Gracie with David - has previously spoken about how much she likes showing affection to her co-stars, including Lee Pace, who she starred opposite in US TV drama 'Pushing Daisies'.

She’s a daring actress who’s not afraid of any role, so it’s no surprise that Anna Friel is baring all in her latest performance in London.

The “Pushing Daisies” actress plays Holly Golightly in “Breakfast At Tiffany’s,” a role made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the film adaptation.

The only difference? Friel is giving her Theatre Royal audience something to look at as she strips down to her birthday suit, while Hepburn kept her clothes on for the role.

The free-spirited actress, 33, was the first woman on British TV to share a lesbian kiss and more recently played a prostitute in the BBC series “The Street” where she filmed wearing an array of racy lingerie.

Anna Friel was shocked at her much she loved her daughter.

The 'Land of the Lost' actress - who raises four-year-old Gracie Ellen Mary with her partner of nine years, 'Harry Potter' actor David Thewlis - hadn't planned on having children but was amazed at the feelings she had when she became a mother.

She said: "I never planned it. If you don't have children, all I'm saying is that you'll miss out on having this beautiful, innocent, adorable little thing that'll love you like you've never been loved before. And it makes everything else just not as important, so you go at things with a lot more confidence."

Anna Friel will not give up her career for motherhood.

The 'Land of the Lost' actress - who raises four-year-old daughter Gracie Ellen Mary with her partner of nine years, 'Harry Potter' actor David Thewlis - adores being a mother but would be reluctant to quit Hollywood to focus on family life.

She said: "I love being a mother so much, but this is also an important time in my career where things are finally happening for me. I don't ever want to regret not making the most of it, so I bring my daughter to work with me. It's the only way to make it work."

However, the 33-year-old British beauty admits she finds being a working mother a challenge.

She explained: "I had Gracie with me on the set while I was filming 'Land of the Lost' and it was weird explaining why her mummy was in a cage! But she loved it!

Continuing work on their new movie, Colin Farrell and Anna Friel filmed scenes for "London Boulevard" in London on Tuesday night (July 21).

Wearing a snazzy suit, the 33-year-old Irish actor and his 33-year-old English co-star chatted outside a local restaurant before rushing off to catch a cab during the night's shoot.

And though she has to get all dressed up for her roles, Miss Friel recently admitted that she's a value shopper, telling: "Usually you'll see me in a dress or skirt. I love to feel feminine and you're more likely to find me in a vintage shop or high-street one, as opposed to Gucci or Prada."

Talking to Look magazine, Miss Friel also revealed that she's no fan of working out, although she does exercise to keep her figure.

"I'm not a big gym fan to be honest. I do the rowing machine, walking and a bit of Pilates. On the set of 'Land of the Lost', Will Ferrell had a big gym workout truck on set and I had a Power Plate set up there. Without sounding rude, it's actually a very big vibrator! But it's like doing about 100 squats and it's really good for your legs - and you don't sweat," Friel tells.

She’s always up to something and yesterday (June 18) Keira Knightley was spotted filming scenes for her new movie “London Boulevard.”

The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actress looked a bit frumpy as she shot exterior sequences in the English capital city, sporting a knit hat with a grey trench coat, pink blouse, and baggy trousers.

“London Boulevard” is a story about an ex-convict who ends up falling in love with a reclusive actress, and the funky dynamics of their relationship.

And it sounds like Miss Knightley has plenty of extra star power on the set with her- Colin Farrell and Anna Friel also star in the flick.

Keira Knightley and Colin Farrell have joined the cast of the drama "London Boulevard," the directorial debut of William Monahan, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "The Departed."

The duo join David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Ben Chaplin and Ray Winstone in the film, which Monahan adapted from author Ken Bruen's novel.

The movie, which begins filming in the British capital this week, centers on a London criminal who is newly released from prison and becomes involved with a reclusive young actress.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)