Actor admits to eating 'a grain or two' of late mother's ashes before going on stage
Rachael Stirling has admitted she eats 'a grain or two' of her mother's ashes before going out on stage.
Whether it be stand-up comedians, actors or singers, many who go out on stage have some kind of ritual prior to performing.
That could be something to calm the nerves or even a good luck ritual, whatever it may be, we've surely not heard something more bizarre than what Stirling does before the opening night of a play.
The 49-year-old lost her mother, Diana Rigg, aged 82 in 2020 after a cancer diagnosis.
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Rigg featured in the likes of HBO's Game of Thrones and the 1960s's TV show The Avengers. She was, of course, also famous for playing Bond Girl opposite George Lazenby’s 007 as well.
Stirling has been speaking about her mother in her new memoir titled All About My Mother, which details the pair's relationship and life.
In that new book, as per the Telegraph, Stirling revealed that she ingests her mother's ashes on the first night of a new play.
"Although it shocks people when I tell them," she wrote in the memoir. "It feels absolutely natural to me. I am cloaked in her, shielded and shrouded by her. My mother is my superpower."
It's highly recommended not to consume cremated remains as they could contain heavy metals or chemical residues from the actual cremation process.
While consuming small accidental amounts are usually non-toxic, intentional eating is unsafe due to the risk of toxic buildup in the body.
Rigg had initially kept her cancer diagnosis from her daughter in March 2020 as Stirling was starring in Mike Bartlett's Love Love Love at the time.
But Rigg's health rapidly declined and with Stirling later in the know, the latter became concerned with her mother's care.
She revealed in her new book: "They lost Mama's name on the system at one juncture during Covid. I was asking: 'Where the f*** is my mother?'
"I found her eventually. I basically had to break into the hospital. She was in a room on her own. She couldn't get out of bed. The only thing she wanted to eat was this yogurt, but she couldn't open it, and nobody had helped her, so she hadn't eaten anything.
"So that was that. I took her home with us."
In September 2020, just six months after her diagnosis, Rigg passed away.
Stirling said in a statement at the time: "My Beloved Ma died peacefully in her sleep early this morning, at home, surrounded by family. I will miss her beyond words.
"She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession."
Callum Jones