Dame Arlene Phillips says sex is ‘as good as ever’ at 80

Dame Arlene Philips has revealed ‘laughter is the secret’ to staying young in bed – as she insisted sex at 80 was ‘as good as ever’. 

Sharing the intimate details of her long-term relationship with set designer, Angus Ion, the former Strictly judge said she hadn’t changed much since ‘getting old’.

Dame Arlene, who turned 80 this year, said her relationship with the 62-year-old carpenter is what keeps her feeling youthful. 

The pair met 38 years ago on the set of Freddie Mercury’s music video I Was Born to Love You in 1985 and have been together since. 

The couple, who keep their relationship out of the public eye, share one daughter Abigail Ion, 33, and a dog called Freddie. 

When asked if sex improves with age, Dame Arlene told Women’s Weekly: ‘Getting older doesn’t really change things. 

‘Certainly in my life, whether it’s walking, swimming, running or sex, you can always get back on the bicycle! 

‘Laughter is also the secret… There are no rules. Listen, I am just going to keep going.’ 

She explained she and her husband share a passion for keeping their sex life alive because ‘lots of sex’ is her secret formula behind looking and feeling younger. 

But it appears this has always been her mantra – in 2008, she confessed to the Mail when she first moved to London she would look for men in flashy cars and pick them up off the street. 

She said: ‘It was a fine time to be an attractive woman. I spent a lot of time on the King’s Road, getting picked up by whatever flash car came by.’ 

In 1981, Arlene had a fling with one of the models behind the scenes of a shoot for her dance troupe, Hot Gossip, and fell pregnant but vowed never to reveal the identity of the father. 

Her daughter Alana, now 42, does not appear to have reached out to find her father. 

Phillips pictured with set designer Angus Ion who she has been in a long-term relationship with 

Dame Arlene met Angus four years later and had her second daughter, Abi, in 1990 at 47. 

But it appears the former I’m a Celebrity contestant has not slowed down since her youth and credits ‘lots of sex’ as a key part of her exercise routine to keep her feeling young. 

Although she did admit to another secret. ‘I’ve just had a little spot of Profhilo [an injectable skin treatment] almost two years ago,’ she said.