From poverty to a damehood - JOANNA’S RAGS TO RICHES STORY

The fab star reveals the tough times that nearly broke her

Wearing a hot-pink ensemble that her alter ego Patsy Stone would have been proud of, Joanna Lumley arrived at Buckingham Palace earlier this month as a beloved actress – and left a Dame!

For the star, who has entertained audiences for decades in everything from The New Avengers to Absolutely Fabulous, the moment was delicious.

“These are things that, as a child being ticked offand having my prefect badge taken away for smoking, something you would never dream of,” she enthuses with good humour.

Dame Joanna, 76, was given the honour to recognise her services to drama, entertainment and charitable causes – and perhaps no cause is as close to her heart as her work for the British mental health charity Mind.

Because while her rebellious streak as a schoolgirl got her into trouble with her teachers, Joanna has revealed a major psychotic breakdown once left her fearing for her life.

In the swinging sixties, Joanna made a crust as a model and in 1966, at the tender age of 20, she began a yearlong romance with fashion photographer Michael Claydon.

In 1967, the pair amicably parted. Joanna was 21 and realised later that she was pregnant. In those days, it was highly unusual for unwed mothers to do anything other than give up their babies for adoption, but Joanna was determined to keep her little boy Jamie, who was born in October 1967.