Lisa Dillon criticises ‘shameful’ ex Patrick Stewart for ‘diminishing’ five-year relationship in autobiography

Actor Lisa Dillon has hit out at “shameful” Patrick Stewart for “diminishing” their five-year relationship in his recent autobiography.

Dillon, who is best known for her role in the BBC series Cranford, had a relationship with the Star Trek actor from 2003 to 2007 after starring in a production of The Master Builder. When Stewart met the 23-year-old Dillon, he was 62 and married to Wendy Neuss.

In the memoir, Stewart, who recently said he “grieves” his “non-existent” relationship with his two children, wrote of his time with Dillon: “And so, another divorce. I felt stupid and responsible … I had cheated on my wife with a younger woman – again.

“And just like my affair with Jenny Hetrick, my time with Lisa Dillon would also prove to be relatively short … In a life chockablock with joy and success, my two failed marriages are my greatest regret.”

Dillon, who remained close friends with Stewart after the dissolution of their romance, said she “felt upset, angry and betrayed” after reading what Stewart had to write about her in the memoir, stating: “I’m still in a place of turmoil with it all.”

She also suggested their friendship is over, telling The Times: “The impression he gives is that our relationship was very fleeting – that I was a silly affair that broke up a marriage – and he got caught out. But it’s not just about our nearly five years together – this is the most enduring friendship of my life. Or it was.

“In my heart of hearts, I always felt he would honour me properly if he were to write about me.”

Dillon was left particularly upset by Stewart’s suggestion that he never loved her. In the memoir, he writes: “I remember the warning I had received from an older actor decades ago, that if you keep saying ‘I love you’ to someone in a play, you can drift into believing the sentiment to be true.”

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According to Dillon, Stewart “relocated his life from Los Angeles to be with me in England and we lived together almost immediately. Everybody had to be in the know because we were going to live this mature, loving life together. And I felt very loved by him.”

However, she said while she “always looked back at that period with pride... reading what he’s written has for the first time made me take on board my age” and that she can “see my vulnerability in a way that I never have before.”

Dillon added: “For the first time, I’ve thought, ‘What did a 62-year-old man find attractive about me at 23?’”

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The actor also claimed she heard from Stewart’s lawyers after contacting him about the memoir, but maintains that she felt she was owed some loyalty by Stewart as she has “spent 20 years fielding put-down remarks about” their relationship.

“And then the very man that had the opportunity to cancel that has only added to it. For him not to write anything honourable about our time together is shameful. He has diminished me, both professionally and personally, editing me out of parts of his life.”

The Independent has contacted Stewart for comment.

Stewart married his first wife Sheila Falconer in 1966, with the couple divorcing in 1990.

He started his relationship with Dillon four months before his divorce from American producer Neuss, whom he was married to for three years, and he has been married to singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell since 2013.