Dame Helen Mirren thanked NHS nurses on Instagram to mark International Nurses Day on Tuesday (12 May), using L’Oreal’s famous phrase, “Because you’re worth it” in her tribute. In the video, she thanked healthcare workers for everything they have been doing throughout the coronavirus pandemic. She said: “Today is International Nurses Day. Now, I work for L’Oreal and maybe some of you may know they have the famous phrase, ‘Because you’re worth it’. Well, today of all days, we can say with our hands on our hearts, truthfully, and sincerely, to the nurses, you are worth it. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done and for everything you will be doing in the future.” Mirren then went on to suggest that, if nurses come to negotiate their salaries, they should also take inspiration from the L’Oreal catchphrase. She added: “And, in the future, when you come to negotiate your pay rises, you can say altogether, very loudly, ‘Because we’re worth it.'”

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Helen Mirren (@helenmirren) am Mai 12, 2020 um 10:15 PDT

On May 07, 2020, Dame Helen Mirren appeared on “Front Row Late: Lockdown Culture with Mary Beard” from her home to read the John Donne poem “The Sun Rising”. With cultural institutions around the country closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mary Beard presents from her study. In the episode, Mary discusses the power of poetry in a time of pandemic, with Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke, poet Lemn Sissay and historian David Olusoga. There were special poetry performances from Mirren and the so-called poet laureate of Twitter, Brian Bilston, plus historian Simon Schama tells Mary why the 17th century poet John Donne is a poet for today’s times. If you live within the United Kingdom, you can watch the episode on the BBC 2‘s website.