Laura Aikman and Dyan Cannon to meet, ahead of the new ITVX series 'ARHIE', from Dyan Cannon's book.

 Dyan Cannon and Laura Aikman have become friends, and plan to meet when Dyan comes to the UK for the release of the TV mini-series ARCHIE, which she Executive Produces for ITVX. The show is based on her book. From Doris Visits https://www.dorisvisits.com/archie/

In her book Dear Carey, Dyan Cannon reveals she wasn't looking for romance when she sat down for lunch with Cary Grant in the studio canteen; she was a young actress on the outskirts of Hollywood just hoping for her big break. Her sweet, sad, candid, but honest autobiography, Dear Cary, reveals a side of Cary Grant the world has never before seen. Executive Producer Cannon was keen that her book was interpreted carefully, and the casting of her as a young actress was right. After many conversations and video callbacks and auditions with every young actress in Hollywood and beyond, Laura Aikman was chosen. When they spoke after Laura had been contracted and were discussing Laura as the star, Dyan was shocked to discover that Laura is from England and the American accent that she had heard for months was not Laura's native voice.

Laura misses cruise on the P&O AZURA to film ARCHIE

The two spoke regularly throughout shooting, screening, and editing. Now friends, the two are to meet when Dyan comes over for the Archie press launch. They will both be flying in, because Laura, who has been filming all year on different shows, has yet to have a holiday. The launch is in the middle of her holiday. Laura also missed a planned cruise she was due to take on the P&O Azura, where her parents were both on board as celebrity guests. Her father Stuart St Paul is the Celebrity Stuntman, movie director, and cruise crime author of Cruise Ship Heist, and her mother, Jean Heard, is an actress who has played in the West End and On Broadway and now presents Doris Visits Cruise TV.

Laura Holly Aikman went to Haberdashers School in Northwest London, which Jason Issacs also attended. (as did Sacha Baron Cohen and Matt Lucas). At Habs she did many stage performances including Henry V speaking only in French. She left school just before A-levels, when the BBC asked her to lead out the Saturday morning Show MYSTI. She has also led out the series Personal Affairs, and played James Cordon's girlfriend in the Christmas special of Gavin and Stacey.

The series concentrates on Dyan's time with Carey from episode 2. The first episode sees the boy, Archibald Alec Leech, born in January 1904 in Bristol, UK, invent and become Cary Grant. What Dyan found in meeting Cary was a star-crossed soul mate - a man who fell instantly in love with her, pursued her relentlessly and eventually persuaded her to love him back equally. Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon were a glamorous and popular celebrity couple, the epicentre of chic and swinging 1960s Hollywood. For a few brief years, their romance flourished; she became his fourth wife, and they had a daughter. Their romance played out like one of Grant's movies - bold, witty, full of dramatic gestures, and equally tender moments. When the love died, however, it ended in the same way it had started: dramatically, on courthouse steps and on the front page of every newspaper in the world. Sweet, sad, candid, and honest, Dear Cary reveals a side of Cary Grant the world has never-before seen. It has taken Dyan Cannon two decades to reconcile herself to the death of Cary Grant and to come to terms with their stormy, difficult love. Dear Cary, is the end result of that acceptance; her final love letter to her one true love, Cary Grant. Archie is a result of Dear Cary, and Laura Aikman portrays that sensitive role. Grant was married five times; to actresses Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935), Barbara Hutton (1942-1945), Betsy Drake (1949–1962), Dyan Cannon (1965–1968), and Barbara Harris (1981-1986).

Her parents, who now have the TV cruise channel Doris Visits as their retirement project on YouTube, will miss the launch of Archie as they are ship jumping as Stuart is on a book tour for the release of his novel Cruise Ship Heist. Stuart says, when Laura started in the film industry people used to say, "Oh, you are Stuart St Paul's daughter." When it got to the point, that when I walked on set they said to me, "Oh, you're Laura Aikman's dad!"  He goes on to say, "As proud as I was, it was time to put my feet up, cruise and write."