Emma Thompson’s husband wanted Kate Winslet

The three actors were filming an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, Sense and Sensibility, sixteen years ago, when Mr Wise, who was then 28, was told by a fortune teller that he would meet his future wife on set.

At the time, Thompson, who is eight years Wise's senior, was still married to Kenneth Branagh, and proceeded to watch as Wise pursued the 19-year-old Winslet, before eventually realising that his attraction was actually to Thompson.

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Why Emma Thompson's man loves his mother-in-lawSpeaking on BBC One's Tonight with Jonathan Ross show, Thompson, 50, said: "He courted Kate for weeks. He took her to Glastonbury. She didn't take to it because she's a mod and he's a hippy."

Thompson won an Oscar for her screenplay adaptation of Austen's novel, and starred in the film as Elinor Dashwood, a spinster who ends up marrying her true love.

Winslet played her beautiful but flighty younger sister, Marianne, while Wise played the roguish character of John Willoughby.

Following Thompson's divorce from Branagh in 1995, Winslet was instrumental in helping her get together with Wise.

Thompson and Wise, who remain close friends with Winslet, have been together for 15 years and married seven years ago.

They have a 10-year-old daughter, Gaia, and an adopted son, Tindyebawa Agaba, 22, from Rwanda.

Winslet met her second husband, the director Sam Mendes, through Thompson, but the couple announced their separation earlier this month