An actress's private life is NONE of our business.
We've heard the gossip that she doesn't suffer fools gladly. That is none of our business.
But the late Sir Cecil Beaton's diary for November 1973 retails gossip from playwright Anthony Shaffer.
Shaffer maintains he laboured one year writing a play for her, sent it to her and she did not reply!
Maybe her agent never passed it on.
Do you mean Peter Shaffer? They must have healed the breach as he wrote Lettice and Lovage for her in 1987
^ I am only passing on Cecil Beaton's gossip.
Though I note she appeared in Peter Shaffer's The Private Ear and The Public Eye back in 1962.
I don't agree that an actress' private life is none of our business. Not that I'm saying we have the right to know everything that's going on in their private life, but we do have the right to curiosity and polite conversation about it. It's only natural to be curious and form opinions. As long as we strive for politeness while doing so, I see nothing wrong with it.
I'm always astonished at how angry people get when one brings up a star's private life. Unless one is a stalker, peeking into house windows, stealing things, etc. – discussing the known details of a public-figure's life – even if they be deemed private by some internet watchdogs – is perfectly acceptable and par for the course when you're a public-figure. And anyone who has a problem with that doesn't understand the relationship between stars, their fans, and the press. Not only that, but the British press is allegedly far worse than Australia or the US. So I'm sure Maggie's totally used to the idea of what being a public figure entails---even if she has been free of most of it.
Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!