IRENE Dunroe isn’t just any kind of WAG, she’s a prison WAG.
The 73-year-old, who was married to one of Britain’s most notorious prisoners, Charles Bronson, at the time of his incarceration for armed robbery in 1974, has reignited their relationship.
5
5
The pair divorced and both remarried, but their unconventional love story is now very much back on the table – and Irene reckons it’s finally time that Bronson gets released, after almost 51 continual years behind bars.
Born Michael Peterson, but also known as Charles Ali Ahmed and Charles Salvador, the 72-year-old has landed himself the title of ‘Britain’s most violent prisoner’ during his half century inside.
He was first locked up in 1974 for armed robbery and wounding – but his prison etiquette of attacking other inmates (including with glass jugs) and slew of various attacks on guards are what have kept him in the slammer.
He has also taken many hostages over the years – a total of 11 across nine different sieges inside – including fellow lags, governors, doctors, his own solicitor and even his art teacher, who made the mistake of critiquing Bronson’s drawings.
He has had only two brief periods outside prison since 1974, but reoffended during both, and was put into solitary confinement around 30 years ago, where he remains today.
That being said, smitten Irene still thinks he should be released. “He’s never killed anyone,” she rationalises.
“I want him out,” she shared in an interview with The Mirror. “I can’t rest until he is.
“It breaks my heart. I feel like time has been suspended, but when he’s out I can relax.”
Violent OAP Bronson is a hopeless romantic, but was once “very, very protective”, according to Irene.
“We were a bit like Romeo and Juliet because my parents never liked him from the start,” she said.
“He never used to like me to wear make-up. I used to get lots of attention from the other men.
“I’d be walking along the road with him and if men stared, he would go mad.”
Things took a turn when Bronson was locked up in the Seventies, leaving Irene as a single mum to their two-year-old son, Mike, living in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
The good, the bad and the ugly
“I used to wonder if it was going to be a good letter day or a bad letter day,” she said. “It would be ‘this man came at me with a piece of glass’ or someone had stabbed him. Soon he had scars all over his back.
“In the end, I thought he’s never, ever going to get out. He was just standing up for himself but he was young and he didn’t realise how hard things were for me and Mike on the outside.
“In a way, I had it harder. He didn’t have to worry about paying bills. It was hell.”
In 1976, the pair ended their five-year marriage, with Irene going on to marry twice more, having two more children.
5
5
Meanwhile, Bronson remarried twice while inside, befriended the infamous Kray twins and spent four months trying to dig a tunnel out of his cell.
His other two wives were Saira Ali Ahmed, who he married in 2001 and divorced in 2005, and Paula Williamson, who was married to him from 2017 until her death in 2019.
Irene assured his other wives: “Nobody knows him like I do.”
She got back in touch with Bronson in 2012 and recalls him asking, “How are you, princess?” in his Cockney accent.
Rekindled Flame
They finally re-met in the flesh in 2023, of which Irene recalled: “He was the same broad, muscular man but he was so pale.
“But it felt so comfortable. He feels horrible for what he put us through by being locked up.”
Now that the pair have rekindled, Bronson serenades her over the phone, including crooning Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called To Say I Love You down the line while she embarks on bus journeys.
They speak every day, sometimes twice, and he sends her his artwork, which includes a picture series about their rollercoaster love story.
5
Bronson could be released from prison later this year thanks to his fresh bid for freedom, which will be the ninth time parole chiefs are looking at the armed robber’s case.
Irene said that they have discussed living together, but he’d have to stay in the shed as they’ve both gotten so used to having their own space.
They’ve created a bucket list for his release, featuring plans for steak dinners, leisurely walks along the beach, a custom-tailored suit for Bronson and even running the London Marathon for charity.
He’s going to dress as a prisoner with me as his warden. I’ll bring home a whip to make him go a bit faster
Irene Dunroe
Ann Summers worker Irene even hopes to inject a bit of role play into their sex life.
“He’s going to dress as a prisoner with me as his warden,” she said. “I’ll bring home a whip to make him go a bit faster.”
Irene would love to see her beau return home in time for Christmas, so that they can have dinner with their son Mike as a family for the first time.
“He just wants to get out and find himself a little cottage in the country and make it his art studio,” she added.
“He doesn’t get jealous any more. He’ll be pleased if I got attention from a man now – he would be proud.
“He’s very artistic, very clever, very intelligent, generous. He’s just a completely different person than this mad monster that people used to make out he was.”