'I don't want my 30-year-old body back'

Actor Hermione Norris on ageing gracefully, her career and what life is like in her 50s

- VICKI POWER

Hermione Norris is embracing her 50s in a big way. The star of Cold Feet, H Spooks and Wire in the Blood has a refreshingly positive attitude about middle age, an era in women's lives that can become tricky for some.

Firstly, she isn't trying to turn back the clock with anti-ageing treatments or tough workouts. When she sees middle-aged women in their gym kits on Instagram, 'It just makes me want to reach for 10 doughnuts, says Hermione, 56, with a sigh.

'It doesn't inspire me. Look, I am not in any way, shape or form criticising anybody who does it, but that feels to me like trying desperately to hang on to something that's gone.

'I don't want my 30-year-old body back. I want to embrace who I am and what I have. I want to be strong and healthy, but I don't need to be pumping iron and getting a bikini on. It feels such a punitive thing to do to yourself - not nice, not kind. Just embrace what your body's done for you in your life. Be respectful and mindful, and care for it in a different way?'

Hermione has given a lot of deep thought to this phase of her life, and is philosophical about its challenges.

'It's a transitional change,' she muses. 'You reach menopause, your kids start leaving home, and your parents die. You're no longer of value to the world in the way that you were.