PRESS UPDATE : THEATRE FULL STOP .. IN MEMORY : PETER CHARLESWORTH .. 1931 - 2024 ..

 

Peter Charlesworth : Theatrical agent dies at age 93..

Peter Charlesworth, the distinguished theatrical agent and producer, passed away peacefully at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, on July 8, 2024, at around noon, following a prolonged illness. He was 93 years old.

Born on April 3, 1931, in Fulham, London, Charlesworth leaves a remarkable legacy in the British arts scene. During his over 50-year career, he represented numerous household names in the entertainment industry, including Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, Joan Collins, Petula Clark, Benny Hill, Frankie Howerd, Clive Dunn, Barbara Windsor, Anthony Newley and many more.

Charlesworth’s journey to success was marked by humble beginnings. Leaving school at the age of 15, he began his career as a pageboy at Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair, London. He later worked at a showbiz restaurant in Soho, where he made significant contacts in the entertainment industry. This network led him to a role as a ‘record plugger’ and subsequently as a junior partner at Jock Jacobsen’s theatrical agency, where he worked with stars such as singer, comedian, and variety performer Max Bygraves.

In 1979, armed with valuable experience and connections, Charlesworth established his own agency in South Kensington. His agency quickly gained a global reputation for excellence and fierce advocacy on behalf of its clients. In 2016, Charlesworth retired, and the agency was rebranded as Sharry Clark Artists and continues to serve clients with distinction from offices in London and Wales.

Beyond his illustrious career in theatre and entertainment, Charlesworth was an expert and passionate collector of antique firearms and weaponry, becoming a renowned authority on Napoleonic-era history, art, and arms. He was also an avid jazz enthusiast.

A small memorial service for close friends and family will be announced in the coming weeks.

Peter Charlesworth’s contributions to the arts and his dedication to his clients have left an indelible mark on the industry. He will be remembered with great admiration and affection by those who knew and worked with him.

Peter leaves behind a powerful legacy having built up the Britsh entertainment industry, below is a list of well known stars he represented:

• Judy Garland (1922-1969) – Singer and actor, best known for her role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.”
• Shirley Bassey (1937-) – Iconic Welsh singer, famous for recording the theme songs for three James Bond films.
• Joan Collins (1933-) – Actor and author, famous for her role as Alexis Carrington on the TV series “Dynasty.”
• Petula Clark (1932-) – Singer, actor, and composer, best known for her hit song “Downtown.”
• Benny Hill (1924-1992) – Comedian and actor, best known for “The Benny Hill Show.”
• Frankie Howerd (1917-1992) – Comedian and actor, known for his unique comedic style and roles in British television and film.
• Barbara Windsor (1937-2020) – Actor, famous for her roles in the “Carry On” films and as Peggy Mitchell in the soap opera “EastEnders.”
• Clive Dunn (1920-2012) – Actor, best known for his role as Corporal Jones in the sitcom “Dad’s Army.”
• Ron Moody (1924-2015) – Actor, best known for his role as Fagin in the musical “Oliver!”
• Lonnie Donegan (1931-2002) – Singer, songwriter, and musician, known as the “King of Skiffle” for his influential music.
• Lionel Blair (1928-2021) – Dancer, choreographer, and television presenter, known for his work on British TV variety shows.
• Frankie Vaughan (1928-1999) – Singer and actor, known for his hit songs and performances in musicals.
• Anthony Newley (1931-1999) – Singer, songwriter, and actor, known for his stage and screen performances and contributions to musicals.
• Britt Ekland (1942-) – Swedish actor, known for her roles in films such as “The Man with the Golden Gun” and “Get Carter.”
• Colin Welland (1934-2015) – Actor and screenwriter, won an Academy Award for writing “Chariots of Fire.”
• Kenneth Haigh (1931-2018) – Actor, noted for his role in the play “Look Back in Anger.”
• Robin Askwith (1950-) – Actor, known for his roles in the “Confessions” series of British sex comedies.
• Valerie Leon (1943-) – Actor, known for her roles in the “Carry On” films and James Bond movies.
• Des O’Connor (1932-2020) – Singer, comedian, and television presenter, known for hosting his own chat shows and variety shows.
• Jimmy Edwards (1920-1988) – Comedian and actor, known for his work on radio and television, especially in “Whack-O!”
• David Lodge (1921-2003) – Actor, appeared in numerous British films and television shows.
• James Ellis (1931-2014) – Actor, best known for his role in the TV series “Z-Cars.”
• Shani Wallis (1933-) – Actor and singer, best known for her role as Nancy in the musical film “Oliver!”
• Pat Roach (1937-2004) – Actor and professional wrestler, known for his roles in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones” films.
• George Sewell (1924-2007) – Actor, known for his roles in British television series and films.
• Liz Frazer (1930-2018) – Actor, known for her roles in British comedies including the “Carry On” series.
• Katy Manning (1946-) – Actor, best known for her role as Jo Grant in the TV series “Doctor Who.”
• Frazer Hines (1944-) – Actor, best known for his role as Jamie McCrimmon in the TV series “Doctor Who.”
• Anita Harris (1942-) – Singer, actor, and entertainer, known for her work on stage and in television.
• Melvyn Hayes (1935-) – Actor, known for his role as Gunner “Gloria” Beaumont in the sitcom “It Ain’t Half Hot Mum.”
• Amanda Barrie (1935-) – Actor, known for her roles in the “Carry On” films and as Alma Baldwin in the soap opera “Coronation Street.”
• Barry Howard (1937-2016) – Actor, known for his role as Barry Stuart-Hargreaves in the sitcom “Hi-de-Hi!”
• Lorraine Chase (1951-) – Model and actor, known for her appearances in British TV commercials and series.
• Aimee Macdonald (1942-) – Actor and comedian, known for her appearances on British television and radio.
• Avril Angers (1918-2005) – Actor and comedian, known for her work on stage and in film.
• Terrence Rigby (1937-2008) – Actor, known for his roles in British television and film, including “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
• Denis Lotis (1925-2023) – Singer and actor, popular in the 1950s and 1960s for his performances on radio and television.
• Jimmy James (1892-1965) – Comedian and music hall performer, known for his influential work in British comedy.
• Jack Wild (1952-2006) – Actor, known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the musical film “Oliver!”
• Louise English (1962-) – Actor and singer, known for her appearances on “The Benny Hill Show.”
• Lyn Frederick (1954-1994) – Actor, known for her roles in British films of the 1970s.
• Hinge and Bracket (Patrick Fyffe (1942-2002) and George Logan (1944-2023)) – Comedy and music duo, known for their drag act as elderly women.
• Jess Conrad (1936-) – Singer and actor, known for his work in British pop music and film.
• Sheila White (1948-2018) – Actor, known for her roles in British television series and films.
• Sheila Bernette (1931-) – Actor and singer, known for her roles in British film and television.
• Fred Housego (1944-) – Former London taxi driver who won the BBC quiz show “Mastermind.”

EVENT ALERT : SEQUEL FASHION SHOW TO SUPPORT SHOOTING STAR CHILDRENS HOSPICE... PAVILION BROADSTAIRS.. KENT ... JULY 14TH 2024 ..

FASHION SHOW ITEMS LOTS JOAN COLLINS
 

DAME JOAN COLLINS TO AUCTION OFF CLOTHES FOR CHARITY AT BROADSTAIRS FASHION SHOW IN KENT..

ORGANISED BY PRE-LOVED DESIGNER BOUTIQUE SHOP SEQUEL DRESS AGENCY.

Iconic actress Dame Joan Collins will be donating clothes and accessories for a charity fashion show at Broadstairs Pavilion on Sunday, July 14th.

Organised by pre-loved designer boutique shop, Sequel Dress Agency, the show will have a catwalk and an auction that will see some of Dame Joan’s famous pieces go under the hammer, with all money raised from the auction going to the Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

With a career spanning nearly eight decades, Dame Joan is the recipient of several accolades, including Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. A true National Treasure.

There will also be clothes and accessories donated by TV presenter Vogue Williams, raffle, dancing and live music.

Sequel Dress Agency has been revolutionising fashion while promoting sustainability, while also offering fashion-forward individuals the opportunity to indulge in luxury at affordable prices.

With an exquisite collection of pre-loved Designer and High Street brands, there is an abundance of clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories from a broad range of brands such as Zara, Louis Vuitton, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Prada, Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, YSL, Gucci, and many more.

Owner Nicola Killington said: “After 15 years of running my pre-loved business in London, my family and I relocated to Thanet in 2021 where I opened Sequel. During these few short years I have met so many amazing people and businesses which led me to this event this evening.

“Over the past few years I have met so many lovely people including Jayne, first a client/customer, now a friend. She introduced me to Shooting Star Children’s Hospices and educated me on all the great help and support the charity provides. This inspired me to hold tonights event. I truly hope this event raises awareness for all the wonderful work they do and inspires others to support them, too.

“Another important value of mine is sustainability, I get so much pleasure from helping clients recycle their clothes and bring joy to other customers who give the clothes a new life. I am looking forward to showcasing some of our current items on the night - all items are available to purchase at the end and a percentage of all sales will be given to the charity.”

For more information, visit: https://www.sequeldressagency.co.uk/fashion-show

PRESS UPDATE : HUNGER MAGAZINE .. ISSUE 31.. OUT NOW!

 

The inimitable Dame Joan Collins

Get a sneak peak of our upcoming cover story with the iconic English actress, who sits down with Rankin to discuss old Hollywood, the realities that faced her as a young starlet and her lasting cultural influence.

July 3, 2024

Rankin: Our issue is dedicated to Los Angeles and Hollywood and all the dreamers that go there. We’re calling the issue The Dreamers. As you’re one of the biggest British exports to Hollywood, I was wondering what it was like for you to go there for the first time in the Fifties. What was it like?

Dame Joan Collins: Oh, I was very brave then. I didn’t think twice about getting on a jumbo jet by myself and going to New York, staying overnight in a hotel I’d never been to. And I didn’t know anybody when I got on a plane the next day to go to California. I was met by the publicity team, who took me to an apartment that they’d already rented for me, showed me a car that they’d already rented for me, and told me where the studio was for the next day. From then on I was under contract to the studio, 20th Century Fox. I did what I was told, I did the movies that I was told to do. I went out with the guys that they wanted me to go out with – I was very obedient. I stopped doing my bohemian look, which was heavy bangs, jeans, black polonecks and gold earrings. I went into the more sophisticated, Grace Kelly type of look. White gloves and nice little suits. But during all of this time I had a huge amount of fun.

R: Wow. Did you love it? Was it like a dream?

DJC: Well, I never had these dreams of going to Hollywood like everybody else does. My expectation was that I might be lucky enough to get into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

R: Which is so hard, isn’t it? It’s the best of the best, really.

DJC: Oh, it is, yes. A lot of people were trying to get in and they only took about 50 out of 400 — very competitive. But I wanted to do my two and a half years, go into repertory – which I did for three months – and then make it to the stage and start as an ingenue. Then go into being a leading lady. I didn’t really think I would ever, ever, ever be invited to Hollywood. It wasn’t even in my dreams.

R: Has Hollywood really changed? Do you still see a little bit of the old Hollywood when you’re there?

DJC: Well I do at the red carpet, yes. Like going to the Vanity Fair screening party for the Oscars. You see a lot of very glamorous people. You see a lot of movers and shakers and studio heads and CEOs. And you know, people like Jon Hamm and Pamela Anderson and Jennifer Aniston. But you do not see the stars out walking the streets of Beverly Hills, like they did when I first went there. I would see people like Gene Kelly walking around, or Fred Astaire. The stars all stay in their homes now. If they go out, they will either be papped by the paparazzi or asked to take selfies with the public. Los Angeles, particularly in Hollywood, has become a mecca for holiday spots. It didn’t used to be when I went – it was a working town and actors were workers in the factories of MGM, 20th Century Fox and Paramount. Now it’s a hotspot for the buses. People come in to go to Disneyland and Universal City, where they show you everything. It’s become a big vacation spot for the public.

R: So, do you miss the old Hollywood?

DJC: No, I never miss anything that doesn’t miss you. The only thing I ever miss is my sister, and my mother sometimes, although she died a long time ago. But things, places, no. Life’s too short.

This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 31: The Dreamers. The full story is available in stores worldwide now. 

PROMO UPDATE : FIRST CHOICE HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN ... JUNE 19TH 2024 ..

Check out this cool new advert for First Choice, the holiday company that helps you pick the trip you really want! 

Forget FOMO – embrace JOMO (the joy of missing out) with First Choice Flex. Nothing feels better than getting out of the holiday from hell, like when you get the ick a week before your romantic trip, or you can’t think of anything worse than Amy’s hen do. When you want to say no but don’t know how, ask yourself – what would Dame Joan Collins do? She’d ditch the bitches of course. The self-appointed Queen of Cancellations is here to help you say no to that holiday you desperately want to flake on. Embrace the joy of missing out and cancel for free* with First Choice Flex – no questions asked.

First Choice Holidays has launched a new cancellation product, First Choice Flex, which allows travellers to cancel a package trip and receive a refund for any reason, up to 48 hours before departure.

First Choice Flex can be purchased at the time of booking for an additional fee of 10% of the booking price. It can’t be added subsequently and isn’t available for accommodation-only or flight-only bookings or for bookings made within 72 hours of departure.        

It allows customers to cancel their holiday up to 48 hours prior to their outbound flight’s scheduled departure time and receive a full refund of the holiday, excluding the First Choice Flex fee.

The direct-sell brand has launched a campaign to highlight the product with Dame Joan Collins.

In a video, Dame Joan says: “Life’s too short for holidays from hell. But plans you can cancel with 48 hours’ notice? Now THAT’S a Flex.”

The campaign has rolled out across national and consumer lifestyle media and First Choice’s webpage, YouTube and Instagram.

First Choice Managing Director Bart Quiton-Smith said: “First Choice Flex gives our customers the power of simply changing their mind, we know life happens, plans change, better things come along and so flex is the ultimate add on in empowering personal choice.”

PROMO UPDATE : THE DAME JOAN COLLINS ROSE & LILY BOUQUET & VODKA MARTINI COCKTAIL EXCLUSIVE! .. M&S ONLINE..

 

If you are looking for the perfect gift nothing can be more stylish and glamorous than the Dame Joan bouquet and vodka martini cocktail gift set.. Available exclusively from M&S online.. 

You can order at the following link!

The Dame Joan Collins Rose & Lily Bouquet with Vodka Martini Cocktail

  

So, what’s the secret behind The Dame’s ultimate Vodka Martini Cocktail?

"For me the perfect martini cocktail has just the faintest splash of vermouth. Shaken over ice and decanted into a glass to be enjoyed! I don’t bother with the groceries, they take up too much room in the glass,"​ said Dame Joan. Encased in a gorgeous gold ribbed bottle with and purple velvet label – it’s nothing short of flawless.

Speaking about her unique, signature selection of fabulous florals, Dame Joan revealed: “from London to Hollywood, I always mark special occasions with my favourite flowers – the timeless elegance of white lilies and roses make them the perfect gift.” The Dame Joan Bouquet has been meticulously curated with a selection of enchanting blooms, so you can now gift like a Dame… or why not treat yourself like a Dame too! They were even her choice of wedding flowers.

PRESS UPDATE : DAILY MAIL FEMAIL.. JUNE 6TH 2024 ..

 

‘Sex scenes? I had to get really plastered beforehand’

• Daily Mail
• 6 Jun 2024
• By Jenny Johnston

In a blisteringly candid interview, DAME JOAN COLLINS describes her career in the age MeToo forgot, how she still loves to get squiffy — and her fury that she doesn’t get a State pension

How complicated sex scenes are these days. They are, rightly, all about consent and comfort for the actors but must still fulfil the vision of the director — hence the presence of the ‘intimacy co-ordinator’ on set. It makes you wonder how stars got through them back in the day.

Step forward Dame Joan Collins, no less, to clear that one up. ‘It’s hard to work that up, you know. I mean I did it in The Stud, but I had to get so drunk! we all did,’ she says. ‘There was an orgy scene and oliver Tobias, Sue Lloyd, Mark Burns and I got really plastered beforehand.

‘It was the same with an Italian film which, thank God, no one has ever seen, where I had [a] love-making scene and the director gave me and the actor a bottle of rum and said, “Enjoy,

and come on set in an hour”.’ Who knew that Dame Joan, unfazed by anything (you’d imagine), found sex scenes difficult? She says she would hate to have to do them today, when everything is ‘so explicit’.

‘Maybe some actors can express extreme passion. It’s a hard thing to do unless you feel it. I don’t think I could do that today — not at my age anyway.’

Does anyone still ask? ‘No! There comes a time...’ Yes, civilisation might fall if she did, and it almost seemed to when she last stripped off — for Playboy, at the tender age of 49. It was deemed most unseemly.

‘And now look where we are!’ she agrees, reflecting on the longevity of today’s sex-symbol actresses. ‘You have Jennifer Lopez at, what, 55? [54, actually, but who’s counting?] And Demi Moore is prancing around at 60 [61, Joan!] looking fabulous.

‘There is no barrier now, or at least not the same sort of barrier. My contract at 20th Century Fox came to an end when I was 27, because that was considered the point at which a woman was past her prime. That’s when I settled down and had babies and I thought, “Right, had it now”, and retired.’

Only for a smidgeon, though.

Being Joan Collins, she was back. The astonishing thing about her — although there are many — is that she still hasn’t retired. Nor is she drawing her state pension, I discover, but this is not a choice.

‘I get not a penny from the Government. They refused to give me a pension when I came back from America 30-odd years ago. I’d been paying into National Insurance so I thought, “Maybe I can have a pension” because I wasn’t working. I felt I had a right to it. But they couldn’t find me! They had lost all the paperwork, or whatever it was.

‘They couldn’t find Joan Collins, Actress, therefore I didn’t exist in terms of getting a pension. So I don’t get a pension.’

Blimey. Surely not being able to find Joan Collins, Actress, is a scandal in itself? And yes, she does mind, even while acknowledging that many will wonder how with homes in LA, France and London’s Belgravia, she can have the gall to complain about missing out on that £221 a week. It’s the principle, she says. Also, every penny counts.

‘I know incredibly rich people who are getting it, and they say it helps because things

expensive.’

Besides, she’s not as silly-rich as people think. ‘It would be lovely if I was like those people from Dallas, or Friends who get residuals [payments for re-runs], I don’t. None of us from Dynasty do.

‘People do say, “She must be so rich”, but Dynasty finished 35 years ago. And yes I am still working — not hugely, but enough.’

She is also still working because it’s what Joan Collins, Actress, does. Even if they backdated her pension payments for 30 years, wouldn’t she still work?

‘I don’t want to retire,’ she nods. ‘I see what happens to people when they retire. They crumble because they don’t have any impetus. They don’t have anything that makes them want to get up in the morning, and you know, lying in bed and watching daytime TV is very addictive. I do it sometimes and I could do it all day. But no. I want to get up and do things and experience... life.’ Oh, to go through life being Dame Joan Collins: uncompromising, unfiltered, unapologetically Joan. When we kick off our interview at 10am in her very grand Belgravia home

(think Buckingham Palace but without the threadbare carpets), there is a bottle of martini cocktail on the coffee table.

Alas, we don’t get stuck in — ‘Are you kidding? Who does that at this time, other than an alcoholic?’ — but you really do get the sense that this is a woman who still imbibes, in all senses, even if she no longer needs to for Dutch courage.

She might be the last (wo)man standing who still partakes. Every other celeb in Hollywood, even those half her age, seem to have gone teetotal, but she says: ‘I don’t abstain from Although I don’t drink as much as I used to because I don’t like how it makes me feel the next day.’

Back in her Dynasty days the norm was long boozy lunches with fellow Brit chums like Michael Caine and Jane Seymour, ‘but that was before anyone knew about liver damage’.

Joan's signature Martini and bouquet

The odd tipple is more of a social thing these days, darling; she prefers wine, ‘or whisky, if I have a sore throat’.

When was the last time she was properly drunk, I ask, expecting her to say 1989. ‘May 1. We celebrated my brother’s birthday. But maybe we shouldn’t say “drunk”. Shall we say “over-stimulated”?’

Such is her love for the odd glass, she can now boast her own signature martini cocktail; one that came out this week in good old M&S.

There was a bit of tweaking over getting it up to Dame Joan standard (she says she sent the first sample back, quibbling over the vermouth content) but it’s now on the shelves, in a gold bottle, looking as reassuringly resplendent as Joan herself.

She has been an ambassador for M&S — as much of a British institution as she is — for the past year. Mostly she is brilliant at it, marvelling at the foodhalls, children’s clothes, underwear (‘I buy my bras there’) and swimwear.

She is also lending her name to a rose and lily bouquet.

But she goes mischievously offmessage when it comes to M&S nightwear. ‘Stuart [Machin, CEO of M&S] will be cross with me, but I have told him that their nightwear needs to get better. I could design a few pieces for them.’

What is wrong with M&S nightwear? ‘I think I’d make it sexier. It’s a bit dull, and I don’t like anything buttoned up.’

Tempting though it is to imagine that Dame Joan wafts around her boudoir, draped in silk, it’s not entirely true.

I pluck up the courage to ask what she wears in bed, and the answer is disappointingly British. ‘Well so far this year it has been a cashmere jumper and trousers because it has been so cold.’

The common preconception is that Dame Joan is all about excess in everything, husbands (she’s on number five with her beloved Percy Gibson) and hairpieces included, but you don’t get to her stage of life without an underpinning of moderation. She reckons her mother set her up for a long life.

‘Mummy taught us the importance of exercise and gave us supplements like cod liver oil long before they were fashionable.

‘And she banned sweets, as I did with my children. I’d put a sign on the door saying, “DO NOT BRING SWEETS INTO THIS HOUSE”.’

She despairs now of both the obesity epidemic, ‘and the state of children’s teeth’. Mummy also taught her to cook (the most surreal part of our interview is when we discuss the making of sausage and mash). But never to clean. ‘I don’t do it,’ she says, which will surprise no one.

What does she make of the phenomenon of the TikTok cleaning influencer, who has made a career of filming herself scrubbing a shower screen? Her face is a picture. ‘Whatever floats your boat. If people get off on that, I suppose it’s better than going out and stabbing someone with a knife.’

This is a woman who is about personal responsibility, particularly on health matters. And while she mostly listens to her doctor (‘I have several, one in LA who is coming to stay with us, actually’), she is quite capable of making her own calls, thanks.

‘Doctors don’t necessarily always give you the right advice. This whole thing about drinking. They say you can only have so many units a day. What is that all about? It’s ridiculous. It’s like banning smoking.

‘Forget it. Never going to happen. People don’t like being told what to do.’

We chat about her diet, which is heavy on the asparagus and avocado, but there are defiances here too. ‘If I need to drop three or four pounds, I will do a faddy diet even though the doctors will say, “How can she say that?” But eating just bananas and eggs for a few days is fine.’

Some would despair that Dame Joan still cares about her waistline, but old habits die hard (she was given amphetamines to keep her svelte when she was a starlet).

She is witty and waspish, and a wonderful gossip. ‘What is going on

‘I don’t want to retire. I want to get up and experience life’

In Hollywood marriages there is this thing called Doesn’t Count On Location. Like a holiday romance

with Jen and Ben?’ she asks, leading us into a conversation about Hollywood marriages.

‘There is this thing called DCOL – Doesn’t Count On Location. It happens a lot, like a holiday romance.’

Does she think J-Lo and Ben Affleck should have rekindled their relationship? ‘Oh God, I’m not going to give Jennifer Lopez advice about marriage. Please!’

Yet if there is one woman on the planet who can give marriage advice to women, surely it is Joan?

She tells me her daughter Tara has written a novel set partly in the world of women’s refuges — where Tara has worked — and she was ‘beyond shocked’.

‘I said to [Tara], “Why do these women keep going back to these men?”’

Joan Collins should know. Wasn’t her first marriage — which she entered a virgin, before being raped — an abusive one (that she went on to marry her rapist, Maxwell Reed, was a rather startling sign of the times).

‘Oh, yes. I’ve been in several, because abuse isn’t just physical. My marriage to Tony [Newley, her second husband and father of Tara and Sacha], was abusive because he banged every woman that walked. I think that is a form of abuse. When I would confront him, he would scream and shout and deny it.’

Eventually, she walked. ‘I was a strong woman. I was young, good looking, and I knew it. You have to be aware of what you have got. I thought, “I’m not going to stay with a man who can’t keep his trousers up.” It was heartbreaking because he was a good man.’

She doesn’t want to say too much about Ron Kass, husband number three and dad of her youngest child Katyana.

She describes herself as a ‘serial monogamist’, but there was a blip with Ron because she did cheat: ‘Although I do say if you are going to cheat on anyone it should be with Ryan O’Neal, who was very charming. But that was very much a fling.’

We could get distracted by her flings (Warren Beatty, anyone?), but back to her marriages. How many, does she think, could be defined as abusive, either emotionally or physically?

‘All of them,’ she says. ‘Except this one. Touch wood. Percy is a gentleman. I don’t want to be racist about these things but he’s South American and men from [there] have a respect for women — all women, their mothers, grandmothers, aunties.’

It’s tragic that she divides the men in her life into the ones who were predators and the ones who were not.

The former list seems longer.

She singles out ‘Richard Burton, George Peppard, Richard Todd’ as the ones who treated women like meat on a film set, and expected more than she ever wanted to give.

By contrast, ‘the gentlemen were Paul Newman, Roger Moore, and dear Michael Nader, who were not about to force themselves on you’.

Her dad, a showbiz agent, gave her the survival skills she would need, she reckons (‘he told me the best way to deal with predatory men was to laugh at them’).

Her work ethic also came from Daddy. ‘He had the attitude, “Nobody will do anything for you. Don’t expect anything to last”.’

Still, we expect Joan Collins to last for ever. She says she had ‘an MOT’ with one of those doctors yesterday, but acknowledges that life is, actually, quite random.

‘Look at the Princess of Wales. You can do all the right things, but who would think that a young mother like that could have whatever cancer she has? Some things you can’t avoid. I’m a bit of a fatalist there.’

Can we talk about what her legacy will be? She shudders. No, we cannot.

She doesn’t want to go there, yet, not while there are bags to pack (she’s off to the south of France for the summer), parties to go to, glasses to chink.

‘I don’t want to think about that. I will leave that to Percy. I want to live for today,’ she says.

To that, and her, we must raise a toast.

‘If you’re going to cheat, it should be with Ryan O’Neal’

Article Name:‘Sex scenes? I had to get really plastered beforehand’

Publication:Daily Mail

Author:By Jenny Johnston

Start Page:35

End Page:35