I think you have to relax about aging. What else can you do?

I do still get the odd fan letter about The Good Life, clearly written by somebody aged 18, who says: Will you send a photograph? And I think: Maybe it's kinder not to. I'm deeply into my 50s now.

I hope to start enjoying flirting again when I'm 70, like my mother did.

When I was little I always thought I was marked out, special, on the verge of something momentous. I used to tingle with anticipation.

When I was much younger, I sometimes felt rejected by feminists because of an image that I sold because it paid the bills. Any fool could tell my hair is dyed.

The gym is where I get my chill-out time. I try to go six days a week, but when I'm working, that goes down to about three.

For me, compatibility is a sense of humour, being able to laugh together; that is very important.