She’s known for her timeless glamour and her age-defying looks.
But actress Dame Joan Collins wasn’t flying the flag for age equality on Friday morning, as she declared to Lorraine Kelly that ‘no one over 45 should do Strictly Come Dancing’.
Her remark comes as the current 15th season of the show is in the midst of its launch – which features a line-up of 15 celebrity dancers, nine of whom are over the age of 40.
‘No one over 45 should do Strictly!’ Dame Joan Collins, 84, takes aim at the 2017 Strictly Come Dancing line-up… which features NINE contestants over the age of 40
‘Two people I know have done it,’ she said of the popular BBC dancing series. ‘George Hamilton did the American version, Dancing With The Stars. And he is STILL limping,’ Joan declared.
In 2006, The Godfather Part III actors George competed in the second season of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars with professional Edyta Sliwinska in which they lasted until the sixth round.
Age 66 at the time, he was recovering from knee injuries and relied more on his charm to get through the competition.
Nearly half of the 2017 line-up are over 40 – namely Brian Conley (56), Charlotte Hawkins (42), Chizzy Akudolu (43), Debbie McGee (58), Joe McFadden (41), Rev Richard Coles (55), Ruth Langsford (57), Simon Rimmer (54) and Susan Calman (42).
Ageist? actress Dame Joan Collins wasn’t flying the flag for age equality on Friday morning, as she declared to Lorraine Kelly that ‘no one over 45 should do Strictly Come Dancing’
Speaking in front of a live audience in the Lorraine studio, Dame Joan was asked about the reboot of Dynasty – the 80s show that made her a household name.
‘I honestly don’t know anything about it. I haven’t seen it. Nobody’s talked to me about it, so I have no idea [if she will be in it]. So sorry, but ask me again when it comes out, if it comes out,’ she said.
She elaborated on how she attempted to tackle the gender pay gap that saw her and her male co-star John Forsythe separated greatly in terms of salary.
‘Yes I did [try to tackle it]. Not that it did a lot of good,’ she admitted. ‘After I’d been on Dynasty for two or three years, and I was on the cover of every magazine and I was quite popular, and I asked for a raise and it was totally dismissed out of hand.
15 years together: Dame Joan gushed about her beloved husband, Percy Gibson
‘[Producers said that] the guy who plays Blake, John Forsythe, he has to get more than you, a lot more.
‘I could never find out more, I found out towards the end. The last series they finally gave me a raise. I became a very high paying actress but they only put me in eight out of the 12 episodes so I lost money – and he still got $5,000 a week more than I did.
‘I tried! I tried but now people like Jennifer Lawrence and other young actresses are standing up for it.’