You can't help getting older, but you can help yourself from becoming old and infirm, in mind as well as body.

I've become totally hooked on Cellex-C. It's an anti-ageing serum and is fantastic. I use it morning and evening and even on my hands, where it has faded those dark spots.

But I have had to give up certain things in my life. One is shopping. Two is lunch with the girls. Three is cocktail parties, and four is studying my lines.

I blame my grandmother for encouraging me to become an actress.

Every time an article is written about me or any of my contemporaries who's had the fortune and discipline to look good at a certain age, I am struck by the tone of astonishment, and the certainty that something is being done secretively to beat the devil.

I think it is shocking that 15- and 16-year-olds leave school unable to add up and with the reading ability of a four-year-old.

And the truth is I've always taken very good care of my skin, and always, always worn make-up.