HAPPY EASTER 2018!

                   Hope everyone has a most wonderful Easter!

TV UPDATE : THE ROYALS SEASON 4 .. E! CHANNEL USA .. SUNDAY'S 10/9c

This super shot features Joan in the new season of 'The Royals' currently screening in the USA on E! Channel USA Sunday's at 10/9c

PRESS UPDATE : DAILY MAIL .. MARCH 29TH 2018 ..

DAME JOAN COLLINS has long loathed slobbery celebrity greeting. Recently, she says, they gave her flu - and she'll NEVER air kiss again

By Dame Joan Collins For The Daily Mail

HOW I admire the Japanese culture’s sensible approach to greeting people when they meet — a simple bow or nod of the head is enough, be it to friends, acquaintances or strangers. There’s no handshaking, hugging or, heaven forbid, kissing.

Unlike we British, they obviously know plenty about germs, especially as they are often swathed in gloves and surgical masks.

If only I could find them in silk and satin and swathed in Swarovski crystals! Because while I’ve long been concerned with germs, I’ve become even more wary following my recent experience with a terrible bout of influenza.

Where did I catch it from? It’s almost impossible to know, but I believe the deadliest germ carriers are other people’s hands and faces — which makes my life tricky, considering I work in a profession where hugs, kisses and physical contact are the norm.

 Indeed, in the course of my career, some actors and directors have put my immune system under serious strain, so unnecessarily up close and personal have they become.

My flu virus struck when I was on a plane to Dubai as I travelled to perform my one-woman show at the opera house in December. In spite of having had the flu jab, which protects one from the virus’s deathly A-strain, apparently one can still succumb to the less serious but still awful B-strain, which I unfortunately contracted.

Joan with Cilla Black & Cliff Richard

                                                 
Regardless, the show had to go on, so I staggered on to the stage and managed to get through it, in spite of several coughing fits. Back in London I took to my bed like a Victorian lady with a case of the swoons — legs shaky as spaghetti, ribs aching from a hacking cough. Bed-bound for a fortnight, I almost felt that the end was near. (I’m an actress — you have to expect some drama.)

Ever since, I have upped my one-woman war against germs. A few weeks after my illness, on a flight from London to LA, I was adamant on blocking the airvent above me with duct tape and swabbing my seat and media screen vigorously with disinfectant wipes. I had armed myself with enough hand sanitiser, nose-blocking gel and baby wipes to stock a corner chemist.

I was protecting myself from the zillions of invisible germs that lurk inside aeroplanes, as they do on every surface from door handles to lift buttons and supermarket trolleys. Indeed, while I’ve long worn gloves as a fashionable accessory, now I wear them whenever possible to protect myself against virulent germs.

And, yes, I try to avoid shaking hands — instead offering my jaunty closed fist for a gentle bump, which is usually met by a puzzled expression unless the recipient is approaching puberty — much less this ghastly fad of kissing and hugging strangers.

Joan with brother Bill at launch party for 'The World According To Joan'

   
The bane of my life is the bear hug followed by a sloppy kiss on the cheek from total strangers. As I was born and brought up at a time where you didn’t kiss or hug anyone except your family, and it was the norm to seldom receive much affection from your parents past the age of ten, this is a fad I can’t adjust to.

My mother was a germophobe long before it was trendy to be one. As her first-born, she wrapped me in cotton wool. When we went out in the pram, and because strangers would often coo over me and get far too close for her comfort, she felt compelled to have a sign printed, which she put on the blanket covering her little darling, stating: ‘Please do not kiss me.’

Unfortunately, I no longer have that sign, as it would be still useful. Yes, other actors and actresses seemingly relish sharing their intimate space with others, but call me cold and aloof — and I try not to be — I don’t willingly participate.

So these #metoo movements and mysterious unwritten laws that make it verboten to get too close to your colleagues suit me just fine, even though I generally am against the nanny-state these movements engender.

After the curtain comes down actors are no longer supposed to fraternise with each other and much less with the management and production staff. However, if those were the rules in 2000, I would never have been able to date my husband, Percy, when we met in San Francisco and toured the U.S. He was managing the company and I was playing opposite George Hamilton.

Luckily, George is not one of those actors who spray you with saliva when you have a scene in close proximity. Ever the gent, we worked together several times on TV and he has never parted his lips during a kissing scene.

Joan with Christopher Biggins at launch of 'The World According To Joan'

         
Sadly, that doesn’t apply to a few other actors, who must have exposed me to more germs than I care to think about. As soon as the director yells ‘action’ during a love scene, these actors become full on with the hands, the mouth and the dreaded tongue.

Not to speak ill of the dead (but I will), I played opposite George Peppard in a little epic called The Executioner, shot in Greece. Unfortunately, he was an eager beaver in the amorous department. Wearing nothing but knickers and a sheet during our first love scene, I was at somewhat of a disadvantage as all 6ft 2in of him was splayed on top of me.

The wardrobe lady swiftly pulled the sheet away at the last minute and he came in for the kill. I tried a closed mouth screen-kiss, but he attempted the full-on Frenchie, and as I politely extricated his tongue from my throat for the fourth time, I became angry.

 I protested to our director, Sam Wanamaker, while GP looked on in amusement as the make-up department tried to reconstruct both our lipstick-covered faces.

‘Just do it a little less forcefully, George,’ said Sam persuasively.

‘OK,’ he growled, ever the great star, and off we went again:

Sheet off; Peppard on; tongue in — ugh! Sam was finally satisfied and cried cut. ‘Did you enjoy that?’ smirked George.

Joan with Nikki Haskell after her show 'One Night With Joan' at Feinsteins

 ‘No, I hated it and you didn’t have to be quite so “method”,’ I retorted as I struggled back into my robe, trying not to be the day’s cabaret act for the crew.

‘You’re a prude,’ he sneered. ‘Most actresses love it.’

‘Well, I’m not one of ’em,’ I said and stalked off speechless with fury. George became petulant and refused to talk to me, so we communicated only through our make-up people and during our scenes.

Another actor to perform inappropriate kissing on me was Gene Barry (otherwise known as Bat Masterson in the eponymous U.S. TV series). The details are hazy, but I was a wife pining for my estranged husband who appears to be a double agent, and Gene was the spy master trying to catch him out.

In the movie, Gene escorted me to my front door after a platonic dinner date.

He then tried what was supposed to be an avuncular goodbye peck on the cheek but out came that tongue again. ‘No, no, you can’t do it like that,’ I said struggling away. ‘I’m supposed to be grieving.’

‘For Chrissakes, what are you? Frigid?’ he demanded.

‘Yes, I’ve had two kids and two husbands, and I’m frigid,’ I replied, but Gene didn’t get the sarcasm. ‘I’m Gene Barry. I’m the hero of this picture. This woman’s gotta enjoy it. My fans will be disappointed!’

‘Well, my fans will hate it. Why don’t you go kiss them instead?’

Joan with Gene Barry in 'Subterfuge'

               
We WERE frosty from then on, until he made a guest appearance in These Old Broads, which I starred in with Shirley MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor, decades later. He recalled, not our fall-out on the set, but my subsequent appearance in Playboy Magazine!

Thankfully, neither of these saliva-filled interactions gave me a cold or flu. I wasn’t so lucky when I experienced another distasteful kiss on legendary producer Sam Spiegel’s super-yacht, moored in a gorgeous bay outside Cannes.

I was with Roger Moore and David Niven and their respective wives, looking forward to a birthday celebration for some other Hollywood big-wig. Twenty of us were seated on deck on a long table. Roger toasted the birthday boy, then added: ‘And it’s Joanie’s birthday today too!’

‘Congratulations, honey,’ beamed Spiegel, ‘And have I got a present for you, little lady.’ He lumbered up to me and plonked a tonsil-probing smacker, complete with snake-like tongue, on my lips. Roger thought it was hilarious.

I sat there gobsmacked with a sickly smile on my face as the table whooped with glee and I surreptitiously wiped my mouth on my napkin.

The following day I came down with a virulent strain of flu and had to spend days in bed.

So, dear reader, if I don’t accept your kisses, hugs and handshakes, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you. It just means I don’t want to catch your germs.

PHOTO FLASHBACK : JOAN'S DREAM ROLE INCLUDES THE BOYFRIEND!

To promote 'Rally Round The Flag Boys' in 1958, Esquire magazine ran a photo spread featuring Joan depicting the four dream roles she would love to play.. This fun shot depicts Joan as Polly Brown the main character in 'The Boyfriend'.. Will feature the others in future posts! 

EVENT UPDATE : PACIFIC PIONEER BROADCASTERS TRIBUTE LUNCH .. THE SPORTMEN'S LODGE LOS ANGELES .. MARCH 16TH 2018 ..

Joan on the dais with Percy & Alana Stewart

PPB President Alan Perris presented the Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award to Joan Collins at PPB's

March 16 celebrity luncheon.

Joan is internationally renowned for her role of Alexis Carrington Colby in Dynasty, one of the most highly rated evening and long running TV dramas of all time.

Winner of two Golden Globes and two People's Choice Awards, nominated for an Emmy award among several others, Joan has starred in more than 60 feature films and hundreds of television programs.

Some of her more memorable films are The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing; Rally Round The Flag Boys; The Virgin Queen; The Bravados; The Opposite Sex; Land Of The Pharaohs; Road To Hong Kong; The Big Sleep; Steven Berkoff's Decadence;and Kenneth Branagh's In The Bleak Midwinter. She continues to work on at least one major project a year and her most recent movie, The Time Of Their Lives, co-starring Pauline Collins, was released in March and is now available on DVD. She is currently in production on a new movie Gerry

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Joan has worked with great movie legends and has guest starred in some of the most popular TV series, such as Star Trek, Starsky & Hutch, Mission Impossible, Love Boat, The Persuaders, Space 1999, Batman, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Policewoman, Baretta, The Nanny, Will & Grace, Roseanne; Footballers Wives; Hotel Babylon and most recently Rules Of Engagement and Happily Divorced.

Joan Collins is also a best selling author and has published sixteen books, as well as an accomplished stage actress, having starred in over 11 plays and musicals on Broadway and London's West End.

In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II elevated Joan Collins to Dame Commander of the British Empire (D.B.E.) for her lifetime contribution to charity work, after having presented her with The Most Excellent Order of The British Empire (O.B.E.) for her services to the arts in 1997. She is married to Percy Gibson, who was on the dais honoring Joan at the PPB luncheon along with Alana Stewart, George Schlatter, Carole Bayer Sayer & Diahann Carroll..

Joan centre stage with Alana Stewart, Carole Bayer Sager, George Schlatter, Diahann Carroll, Chuck Street, Jeffrey Lane & Percy Gibson.

Joan with Brian Panella, Diahann Carroll, Carole Bayer Sayer, Alana Stewart & Jeffrey Lane

TV ALERT : SIR BRUCE - A CELEBRATION .. BBC1 9PM .. SUNDAY MARCH 11TH 2018 ..

Dame Shirley celebrates Brucie..

Tune into BBC1 on Sunday March 11th to celebrate the life and career of a true showbiz legend, Sir Bruce Forsyth.. Held at The London Palladium along with a performance by Shirley Bassey, there will also be a filmed tribute from Joan, who knew Bruce for many years, he also appeared in the 1969 film 'Can Heironymus Merkin......' in which Joan starred alongside her then husband Anthony Newley.. You can see 'Sir Bruce. A Celebration' at 9pm on BBC1... 

Joan paid tribute to Bruce ...

''He was such a hard worker in terms of making everything look effortless, which of course it wasn't. He made it look easy!'

Filmed at the London Palladium, this very special tribute hosted by Tess Daly sees a variety of famous faces and friends honour one of this country’s biggest and best-loved entertainers and broadcasters, Sir Bruce Forsyth.

The evening features some of Sir Bruce’s favourite songs performed by a wealth of artists, including Dame Shirley Bassey, Alexandra Burke and Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, as well as dance performances from the Strictly professionals and Adam Garcia.

There are also many personal tributes from stars including Sir Elton John, Sir Lenny Henry, Sir Michael Parkinson, Dame Joan Collins, Ant and Dec, Alesha Dixon, Anton Du Beke, Claudia Winkleman, Paul Merton, Jon Culshaw, Lord Sugar, Bradley Walsh, Rosemarie Ford, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and many more.

PRESS UPDATE : PIERS MORGAN EVENT DIARY .. MARCH 4th 2018 ..

By Piers Morgan Event for The Mail on Sunday

PUBLISHED:, 3 March 2018 

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20

Piers with Joan & Nikki Haskell

Joan Collins and her husband Percy threw a splendid house-warming party at their beautiful new Beverly Hills apartment.

The room was packed with Hollywood figures, including… Michael Brandon.

‘Michael! I don’t suppose you were…’

‘YES!’ laughed the Dempsey And Makepeace legend. ‘I felt such an a** shouting your name like that, you must have thought I was some crazy man.’

‘Actually, it’s more disturbing than that,’ said Celia, ‘he thought you were a fan.’

Designer Tom Ford arrived. ‘I’m wearing one of your shirts,’ I told him.

‘That’s nice,’ he replied.

‘In fact, I have more than 100 of your shirts!’ I added, excitedly. (I wear them for all my TV work.)

‘That’s nice too,’ he replied, without a single tonal change to his unimpressed voice.

I guess if you’re a friend of, and dresser to, Sir Elton John, then you’re used to more Imelda Marcos-style levels of sartorial extravagance.

Stefanie Powers and I got into a lively guns debate.

‘I have a firearm,’ said the Hart To Hart beauty whose on-screen romance with Robert Wagner electrified the world in the Eighties. ‘You have to in this country because there are so many of them out there.’

‘Would you fire it?’ I asked.

‘Honey,’ she retorted, ‘if someone broke into my home, damn right I would. And I’d shoot to kill, not wound.’

I had an amusing chat with George Hamilton, the man with the world’s most famous orange face until Donald Trump became President.

‘What do you make of him?’ I asked.

‘Best reality TV show ever,’ he laughed. ‘He’s made politics entertaining and exciting. I tune into the news every night to see what’s happened next. Whether that’s a good thing is another matter.’

‘Do you know him?’

‘Yes. He once threatened to sue me over some trivial thing involving Miss Universe when I co-hosted it with his ex-wife Marla, so I called him up and we went at it for a bit, then he suddenly laughed and said, “OK, let’s forget it and have dinner.” Everything with Donald is negotiable.’

Stefanie walked past and blew him a lingering kiss. ‘It must be great being George Hamilton,’ I sighed.

‘Relax, Piers,’ he chuckled, ‘she thinks I’m Robert Wagner.’

TV FLASHBACK : RUN FOR YOUR LIFE .. UNIVERSAL 1966 ..

Joan has appeared in many popular tv shows over the years including a guest appearance in this top 1966 show 'Run For Your Life' starring the late Ben Gazzara.Read more at the following link..
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE 1966 UNIVERSAL ..

PHOTO UPDATE : JOAN LOOKS BOOTIFUL AS SHE STEPS OUT TO DINE!

Joan enjoyed an night out for dinner at Craig's West Hollywood last night looking fabulous in a trendy pair of red boots as she made her way in to meet up with friends..

PRESS UPDATE : THE MAIL ON SUNDAY .. FEBRUARY 25TH 2018 ..

Dame Joan Collins reveals the secrets of a successful marriage...

By Ben Ellery for The Mail on Sunday 

After no fewer than four divorces, Dame Joan Collins today reveals she has finally found the secrets to a happy marriage.

The first, she tells The Mail on Sunday Life supplement, is banishing your partner to another room if they snore. And another is sharing the housework. She says honesty and giving compliments are also key factors in keeping a relationship happy.

Dame Joan gives a revealing and sometimes hilarious insight into her 18-year marriage to theatre manager Percy Gibson in today’s exclusive interview. She says: ‘We are together 24/7 except when he snores, and I say, “Darling, I think it’s best that you sleep in the guest room tonight”.’

By Dame Joan Collins for The Mail on Sunday 

Having just celebrated 16 glorious years of wedded bliss with the love of my life, I feel highly qualified to opine on the subject of marital happiness. After all, I’ve been practising being a wife almost all my life. I started on that rocky road on my 19th birthday, and since then there have been very few years when I haven’t been either married or in a relationship.

I’ve been married to an Irishman, an Englishman, an American and a Swede (it sounds like the start of a joke), but I highly recommend the half-Peruvian, half-Scottish breed as per my fifth husband, Percy Gibson. Here’s why…

When Percy and I met 18 years ago, I was in a long-term relationship that was dragging along. After the acrimonious divorce from my fourth husband, Peter Holm – a process that lasted longer than the 13-month marriage itself – I had declared that I never wanted to marry again, and I kept to that promise until I met Percy.

I was in San Francisco, performing in a stage production of A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters, and Percy was the theatre manager of the show. We hit it off immediately. He was funny, engaging, good-looking, and after the show I would socialise with him, my co-star George Hamilton and my daughter Katy.

We had a lorra lorra laughs and bonded like family. I remember one particularly wonderful evening in New York when Percy took me to see Kiss Me Kate, and while we listened to the romantic words of the song So In Love, we realised we had something.

Although Percy is three decades younger than me, it didn’t matter as the camaraderie between us grew during that six-week theatre tour. We discovered that our fathers were born in the same decade of the early 20th Century, and that they were strict and uncompromising with their children, so we also bonded over shared values.

By the time of the tragic events of 9/11, which made us both realise how precious, short and unpredictable life is, we decided we wanted to make our relationship permanent.

After we were married, I very much enjoyed being called Mrs Gibson, even though we hadn’t made it official on the marriage register. When the time came to fill in the document, I asked Percy if he wanted me to change my name to his but surprisingly he declined, explaining quite reasonably that my name was too long established professionally to be changing it for the sake of appearances. He was comfortable knowing that I was his wife. After all, at one time he did have to contend with being called Mr Collins, but he shrugged it off with a laugh.

Percy has been married once before, so between us we now have seven marriages, but nevertheless we are terribly happy. We adore the same things – theatre, movies, reading, good conversation and travelling. We also love working together and did several plays which Percy either managed or produced. Now we are on stage together as part of my theatre show. It’s all unscripted but Percy introduces our act, makes jokes and fields questions from members of the audience.

We are together 24/7 except when he snores, and I say: ‘Darling, I think it’s best that you sleep in the guest room tonight.’

Michael Caine once said the secret to a happy marriage is separate bathrooms. I know most people don’t have that luxury but in our homes, and whenever possible in hotels, we try to keep to that rule. It really does make a difference.

Although the age gap between us was commented upon constantly when we announced our engagement (when someone asked me whether I was worried about the difference, I quipped: ‘If he dies, he dies!’) the remarks have tempered as time has gone on and our marriage has flourished.

I see female friends with spouses the same age or older than them and they seem to take on the characteristics of that older person. And since women historically live longer than men, they often become widows in their 60s or 70s.

Marrying a younger man has the advantage of being with someone who has vigour, vitality, stamina and health, which certainly encourages me even further to keep in shape both physically and mentally. I’ve been active all my life and eat a healthy diet, so I am in good physical and mental health. Percy says sometimes he can’t keep up with my energy and zest for life, so I know a man my age could not!

The fact is that I feel no different really than I did 30 years ago and thank goodness for that. Yes, it takes effort to exercise two or three times a week, but everything in life worth having involves effort.

As for managing our daily lives, we do everything together, although Percy does most of the cooking, as he enjoys it more than I do

Family is also extremely important. I love my family and although we have our occasional differences, in the long run blood is thicker than water and I will always be there for my three children and three grandchildren. Percy totally supports my flock, even if they can be difficult at times. Being a Libra, he is infinitely more patient than me, a flighty Gemini, and he adores my family. As an only child and never having had one himself, he truly enjoys being with all the gang.

One of the reasons I believe many marriages break up within a few years is that couples initially fall in lust rather than love. The early days of any relationship are full of passion and desire. Hormones are rampant, libido rules and couples often tumble, excuse the pun, into a passionate marriage, believing it will be until death do us part.

But the relationship often disintegrates as soon as the adoration wanes and the real person is revealed. If sex is all there is, being with the same person and doing the same things in life – and in bed – can become tedious.

People put their best foot forward early in their mating period. They care about their grooming and their personal habits and they feel their best as the pheromones kick in. But as time passes and irritating habits such as snoring are revealed, they want to end it.

Joan & Percy onstage in Dubai

And they’re the lucky ones, because some discover that the person they married is actually mentally unbalanced or abusive, which is downright dangerous.

We made it clear from the beginning that there were certain things we wouldn’t tolerate in our marriage. Sadly, abuse is something I experienced in my first marriage, and no woman (or man) should ever allow it, either mental or physical, although so many still do. That is why I support the #MeToo movement and I hope that it will spread outside of showbusiness and fashion to help everyone.

Infidelity is another no-no. My marriage to Anthony Newley ended because of his womanising and to me that breaks a sacred bond. Faithfulness and trust in each other are essential, and I admit that I went down that dangerous path of being unfaithful when I was in an unhappy marriage w my third husband, who was addicted to drugs. That is another habit that cannot be endured in a marriage as it changes the person abusing the substances and can lead to enabling or worse, dragging the other person in the marriage down the same road.

Even without these extreme circumstances, accepting your partner as a human being, with all their faults, can be hard. Ultimately, friendship, mutual respect, values and understanding are what binds a relationship. Percy and I were lucky as we worked together first and became friends who lusted for each other from afar.

I think this was helpful as we found each other’s bad habits either surmountable or even endearing, and realised that despite them we enjoyed each other’s company. In fact, as I write this in Percy’s office, he is on his computer and it’s all extremely comfortable and cosy.

Of course, we get irritated with each other – his driving, my incessant interrupting, his snoring. I’m not a Stepford wife and he’s an alpha-male Peruvian-Scot, so sometimes we clash but it doesn’t last long and we are quick to say sorry. We don’t have any secrets.

We compliment each other all the time but I’m also quick to point out if he’s getting a bit of a tummy, and he will say if I’ve gone a bit OTT with the glitz.

I think Percy loves me best when we are at home together – me without make-up and with scraggly hair, and him unshaven and in his tracksuit bottoms – because we love each other for who we are and not what we look like.

As Percy said on the day that we married, we are each other’s ‘accomplices in mischief, comrades in arms, confessors, confidants, fearless leaders and loyal supporters, and very best of friends’.

He is my soulmate and my rock. When we decided to marry, my gut instinct told me this was the man for life for me – and luckily it has come true.     

PHOTO UPDATE : IT'S ALWAYS A WARMING WELCOME FOR JOAN'S GUESTS!

Joan with Tom Ford & Jack Rich

Joan now settled into her new LA apartment, threw a fabulous housewarming party last night and invited many friends including Donna Mills, Jack Rich, Judy & Max Bryer, Alana Stewart, Tom Ford, George Hamilton, Nikki Haskell, Rene Horsch & Jeffrey Lane among others..

Joan with Alana Stewart

Joan with longtime pal Max Bryer

Jack Rich with Donna Mills

PRESS UPDATE : SHOOTING STAR CHASE FULHAM STORE APPEARANCE UPDATE.. FEBRUARY 6TH 2018..

Wonderful Patron Dame Joan Collins donates her time and wardrobe at our Fulham shop

Global superstar Dame Joan Collins brought her trademark glitz and glamour to Fulham on Tuesday (6 February) at the official opening of the newest Shooting Star Chase charity shop.

Shooting Star Chase provides care and support to children with life-limiting conditions and their families, and Dame Joan Collins, a Patron of the charity since 2003, officially opened the shop located on Fulham Road.

She was joined by some children and their families who are supported by the charity, Gwen, Molly and Liam who presented Dame Joan with a bouquet of flowers and a special art canvas designed by children from the hospices.

Dame Joan has donated nearly 500 exclusive items from her very own collection, which include a stunning black sequin dress, Chanel skirt and Grey Lloyd Klein Suit worn by the actress, allowing people a chance to own a unique piece of history. Showcasing a cream lace blouse from Catwalk Collection which is priced at £100.

Dame Joan Collins, Shooting Star Chase Patron said; “I began my association with Shooting Star Chase in 2003. As a Patron, fifteen years on, I am delighted to still be a part of such a special charity. Sharing a huge variety of events to fundraise and raise awareness over the years has been a pleasure. I was even tasked to become a broker for a day! Meeting the children and the families, for whom Shooting Star Chase is vital, remains at the heart of what I enjoy most about being a Patron. I am very happy to be opening the latest Shooting Star Chase charity shop in Fulham and wish it all the success that their other charity shops have achieved. I am thrilled to be able to donate clothes, shoes and accessories from my own personal wardrobe. I hope its presence will help continue Shooting Star Chase’s wonderful work and benefit all those families who need its support now and in the future.”

Karen Sugarman, Director of Fundraising at Shooting Star Chase said; “We are honoured at Shooting Star Chase to have Dame Joan as a Patron. Her hard work and commitment to our charity is tireless.  She brings compassion, commitment and sparkle. We are thrilled that Dame Joan will open our fantastic and exciting new Fulham charity shop and has donated such a vast amount of her fabulous wardrobe.”

A stalwart supporter of Shooting Star Chase, Dame Joan Collins’ visit to the Fulham shop is just the latest in a number of generous activities she has undertaken as a Patron of the charity. Alongside regularly donating items from her personal wardrobe to the charity’s retail shops, she has treated supported families to exclusive Afternoon Tea’s at the Dorchester and breakfasts at Selfridges, officially opening the Weybridge shop and has appeared on Celebrity Deal or No Deal and Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to raise vital funds for the charity. She received her Damehood in 2015 for years of charity work.

Items for sale include a vast array of clothing, hats, shoes and jewellery- with a mix of vintage, high street and designer labels. The shop is also running a silent auction for some of the most iconic items which include a Monte Blanc Zebra print handbag, a Christian Dior brooch, an engraved mirror compact, LK Bennett shoes and signed copies of her book.

Shooting Star Chase have a growing number of shops, now with a total of 11 across London and Surrey, all run by an amazing team of more than 220 dedicated volunteers. The shops play a vital role in helping the charity fund their care service, offering a huge range of pre-loved high quality items – including from an A-list celebrity! The new Fulham shop is the hub of houseware, terrific toys and fundraising fashions.

PHOTO UPDATE : WEDDED BLISS IS A PIECE OF CAKE FOR JOAN!

Joan & Percy celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary in Beverly Hills with friends including Leslie & Evie Bricusse, Judy & Max Bryer & Jack Rich among others...

Joan with her anniversary cake and friends Leslie |& Evie Bricusse & Percy..

PHOTO FLASHBACK : THAT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS JOKE JOANNA!

As it's time for the 2018 Bafta Awards which this year is hosted by the fabulous Joanna Lumley, here is a flashback to last year, where Joan was a guest presenter. This super candid shot features Joan sharing a joke with Joanna before the start of the show..

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Wishing everyone a most lovely Valentines Day! Joan & Percy are enjoying the festivities...

PHOTO FLASHBACK : WHEN DINING OUT.. IT'S ALWAYS TIME FOR A CATCH UP!

This super shot taken last month in LA features Joan with Jeffrey Lane and her close friends Leslie & Evie Bricusse..

PRESS UPDATE : THE SPECTATOR .... DIARY.. FEBRUARY 10TH 2018 ..

Joan Collins: Want to know why all the Oscar films are boring? I’ll tell you

Also: Why I’m not being a diva when I refuse to shake your hand

Joan Collins

10 February 2018

Joan with Gene Kelly in Sins...

I’ve been meaning to write a Spectator diary since the summer but as a Gemini with Aries rising I find I have the annoying trait (just the one?) of being too easily distracted. Not by social media as so many are — Twittering and Instagramming only grab my attention for a couple of minutes each day. No, what entrances me are movies, and the wonderful cornucopia of films available on Sky, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and so many platforms proffering my preferred pastime on my big-screen TV. I refuse to be hunched over a tiny screen downloading the latest blockbuster from Disney or DreamWorks. I search for and find, like an eager fisherman, the classics: Bogart and Bergman inCasablanca (I’ve seen it 50 times at least), Kelly and Reynolds in Singin’ in the Rain (40 times), Davis and Henreid in Now, Voyager, Grant and Kelly in To Catch a Thief (not so many times — it’s not a repeater like the others) and hundreds more. Every time I become glued to the great films of the Golden Era I notice so many new things, particularly the reactions of the supporting and background performers.

I’ve tried to watch the latest batch of potential Oscar contenders sent to me by the Academy and Bafta; the stack of DVDs we attempted to wade through during the Christmas season is now three-feet high. Talk about snooze-making! I pulled off some high-quality naps watching some of these boring bombs. I am not alone in my opinion that many of them are dull, pretentious and preachy; most are far too long and drawn out, and many of my fellow Oscar voters are bemoaning the lack of a good solid product. Hollywood will probably despise me for saying this but when I watch a motion picture I want to be entertained, kept interested and intrigued. Romance, charm and style seem to have been replaced by brutal violence, revolting profanity or far-fetched and alien plotlines. No wonder box-office takings are way down.

The flu season is raging and I myself was struck down with the virus on a plane to Dubai as I travelled to perform my one-woman show at the opera house in December. In spite of having had a flu shot, which protects one from the virus’s deathly A-strain, apparently one can still succumb to the less serious but still awful B-strain, which I unfortunately contracted. But the show must go on, so I staggered on to the stage, the words of my ex about the roar of the greasepaint ringing in my ears, and managed to get through it, in spite of several coughing fits. Back in London I took to my bed like a Victorian lady with a case of the swoons — legs shaky as spaghetti, ribs aching from a hacking cough. Bed-bound for a fortnight, I missed several amusing Christmas parties and almost felt that the end was near. (I’m an actress — you have to expect some drama.) A few weeks later, on the flight from London to LA, I was adamant on blocking the airvent above me with duct tape and swabbing my seat and media screen vigorously with disinfectant wipes. Now I wear gloves whenever possible to protect myself against virulent germs — it may appear eccentric but just wait till I put on that surgical mask. I avoid shaking hands, much less this ghastly fad of kissing and hugging strangers as if they’re pals. Dining at a popular restaurant, the maître d’ was shaking hands with the patrons and when he came over to me, all Uriah Heep-like, proffering his appendage — his hand, I mean — I refused to shake it as I imagined it covered in germs. He was quite offended but my doctor told me that lightning can strike twice.

Hollywood is in an uproar. Some actresses have discovered that some actors and producers are nasty sexual predators. Oh really? Expressing an opinion about this is fraught with danger, so I shall refrain before it’s ‘off with her head’ to me. Nevertheless, if these accusations towards men continue much longer, I fear a major decline in population growth in the near future. An agent I know, who was negotiating a deal for a client, was accused by a female producer of being ‘a bully’ and warned that she was going to expose him because ‘Hollywood doesn’t like bullies’. If she really wanted to know what a bully was like, she should have dealt with super-agent Sue Mengers. A play about her was aptly named I’ll Eat You Last.

A 30-year-old single man informs me that he wouldn’t consider dating because he was too scared of being accused of inappropriate behaviour or of being ‘named and shamed’ by social media or the Twitterati. ‘I go out with the guys, drink beer and watch box sets,’ he said ruefully, ‘and friends are doing the same. We’re scared of the #MeToo movement and of being accused of sexual harassment and worse if we even tell a girl she’s pretty.’ ‘In my day we called it flirting,’ I told him.