'MY FATHER'S ADVICE? "KICK THEM IN THE NETHER REGION, DARLING"

HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY DAME JOAN COLLINS LOOKS BACK FONDLY OVER THE HIGHS OF HER LONG CAREER AND REFLECTS ON THE TOUGHER TIMES SHE'S ENDURED UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

- MARC BAKER

There’s an old-school glamour about Dame Joan Collins that today’s Gen Z actors can only hope to match.

Looking every inch like movie royalty, Joan, 90, meets with us to give an update on her new book and tour, where she will reminisce about her extraordinary career and days as one of Hollywood’s brightest starlets.

As frank and funny as ever, Joan admits she is not sure the younger generation will experience Tinseltown in the same way she did – and that she wouldn’t necessarily recommend an actor’s life.

“I would not advise anyone to start this unless they are made of steel,” she says when we meet at the Kite Festival in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire.

“You have to face so much rejection and hard times, and it is very hard today to be an actress.”

Joan is here to talk about her new autobiography, Behind The Shoulder Pads, which will be published in September. She’s also looking forward to embarking on a tour in the autumn, with her fifth husband, theatrical manager Percy Gibson, 58, by her side.

“He is the light of my life,” she smiles. “We are going to show lots of clips. I have pictures of me eight months pregnant doing the twist, and home movies and lots of films with famous people like Sammy Davis Jr and Diana Dors. We’ll just talk, and for the second half people get to ask me questions – whatever they like. The favourite questions are like, ‘Who was your favourite kisser on screen?’ And I would always answer Paul Newman.”

But these days Percy is the only man for the star, who is straight-talking about her exes as well as the love she feels for her husband of 21 years. “Percy is my rock. We are joined at the hip,” she says. “Hopefully, we will be forever.”