Flaky paint on ceiling

[housyhouse]

Having pulled some ugly embossed wallpaper off my lounge ceiling I have found that it is in quite good condition but was previously painted and I now have patches were some of this has come away with the wallpaper.

What can I do to get a smooth surface for painting over?

 

[masona]

A product called Easi-fill, see this

 

[housyhouse]

Do I really need to fill it? Its one layer of paint. I was wondering about sanding or maybe just putting up lining paper??

 

[breezer]

filling / sanding sounds easier, lining paper will probably "sink" into the holes, making them more prominent