Dick Van Dyke's wife had never seen any of his films before they met.

The 99-year-old actor first met Arlene Silver, 53, backstage at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards in 2006 and while she dismissed his claim she "didn't know" who he was, she admitted she hadn't actually seen any of his classic movies such as 'Mary Poppins' or 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.

Appearing on 'Where Everybody Knows Your Name', Dick told podcast host Ted Danson: "She didn't know who I was."

Arlene disagreed: "No, that's not true. Of course I know who he is. He's Dick Van Dyke!"

But she admitted one of the first things she told Dick was she "had never seen anything he was in."

The actor added of his 1963 classic musical: "She'd never seen 'Mary Poppins'."

But the lack of knowledge of his career didn't upset the 'Night at the Museum' actor.

He said: "In a way, it was kind of good for me, because she wasn't over impressed or anything. I was just a guy, you know?"

Ted's wife, Mary Steenburgen, joked: "Doesn't sound like she was very impressed at all," Steenburgen joked.

Dick quipped: "I was a hard sell."

The former 'Diagnosis Murder' actor - who was previously married to Margie Willett from 1948 until 1984 - previously admitted he had "never approached a strange woman" before Arlene caught his eye.

He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I never approached a strange woman in my life.

"And she walked by and I jumped and I said, 'Hi, I'm Dick.' I had no idea she was half my age. Beautiful."

He later found out she was a make-up artist, so took her last business card and hired her.

They became friends before it blossomed into a romance, but Arlene admitted she was "scared" about their 46-year age gap, though now she thinks it is "so irrelevant".

She explained: "We were friends for so long that when I told people that I know, they were happy about [our relationship], and I was scared.

"I mean, the facts, our age difference. But it's so irrelevant. I think when you see us together, it's like you don't think about it."

The big screen veteran teased: "I was fortunate that I didn't grow up."

He added that their relationship was "meant to be", and Arlene moved in with him in 2011, before they got married in February 2012.