Joanna Lumley may be turning 80, but the national treasure believes 'age is just a number' and would rather look 'forward than back'. The Absolutely Fabulous star, famed for playing the hard-drinking, chain-smoking Patsy in the hit 90s sitcom, tells the Mirror she has no plans to retire. 'I am very lucky to have been and continue to be a busy girl, thank god. Long may that continue!'
Regarded as an icon by her many fans, she admits the thought makes her feel both 'delighted and overwhelmed'. 'If you'd told me 40 years ago that I'd have this following, it would have seemed ludicrous,' she says.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born on May 1, 1946, in Kashmir, India, to a Gurkha officer, Lumley's early childhood was spent in Hong Kong and Malaysia before the family returned to England when she was eight. She started her career as a photographic model with no formal acting training but went on to become one of Britain's most acclaimed stars, playing skilled spy Purdey in The New Avengers, a Bond girl in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and the inimitable Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous.
The Enduring Legacy of Patsy Stone
It's Patsy she's most remembered for. 'To this day, wherever I go in the world, there is always a gaggle of Patsy fans, often dolled up to the nines and looking terribly glamorous. Very few females. Mostly men!' A Patsy Stone waxwork was even created for Madame Tussaud's, complete with signature cigarette and blonde bouffant hair. 'Isn't that great?' says Lumley. 'I've never been back since the unveiling. It's bad enough seeing yourself on screen - seeing yourself in 3D is sort of weird!'
Beauty Secrets and Ageing
Lumley has long been admired for her natural beauty and often cites the 'cheap as chips' £4 Astral Intensive Moisture Cream as her top beauty hack. But she doesn't judge anyone who turns to cosmetic surgery. 'If it's there and you can afford it darling, go for it. Seriously. If your teeth are bad - get them seen to. If you want the wrinkles removed, go for it. If you feel better for it, then do it. It's absolutely OK with me!'
She believes you 'can't stop time' but credits her vegetarian diet of some four decades for still looking so good. 'I do believe that not eating meat holds back the ageing process. But if vegetarianism is not for you, so be it. My husband Stephen isn't a veggie, and he's wonderful. But most people used to eat meat three times a day - bacon and sausages for breakfast, a chop at lunchtime, a meat dish at night. Who does that these days? That's a move for the better. Eating so much convenience and junk food definitely isn't, though.'
Career Highlights and Memories
Other than Patsy, Lumley - awarded the OBE in 1995 and promoted DBE in 2022 for services to drama, entertainment, and charitable causes - has had so many stellar roles over the years, she finds it hard to pinpoint highlights. 'That's hard because I have been in the LOT, darling, everything from On The Buses to Are You Being Served - if my memory is correct, as a German shopper and the other time as a visiting saleswoman. I'll do anything to earn an honest crust!'
One big TV moment that boosted her early career was appearing on the Morecambe & Wise Show in 1969. 'Oh, Eric and Ernie were wonderful. The hardest thing when working with them was to keep a straight face during the supposed serious bits.'
Personal Life and Marriage
Lumley welcomed her only child Jamie, now a renowned photographer, at age 21 after splitting from his father, Michael Claydon. She raised him as a single mother. There was a brief stint on Coronation Street in 1973, playing Ken Barlow's then-girlfriend Elaine Perkins. 'I think everyone should appear in Coronation Street at least once. It's the best of the soaps. I cherish my scenes with Bill Roach.'
She tied the knot with conductor and composer Stephen Barlow in Fort William, Scotland, in 1986, following a brief union with actor Jeremy Lloyd. The secret to their happy 40-year marriage? 'We don't like being apart. People often ask what Stephen and I find to talk about, because musicians are considered so cerebral. But I'm still as fascinated to find out about his world as he is mine.'
Activism and Travel Documentaries
Lumley is also famed for her human rights activism, particularly the Gurkha Justice Campaign, securing equal rights for all Gurkha veterans who served before 1997 to settle in the UK. She has also become acclaimed for her engaging travel documentaries, which have seen her travel the Silk Road, visit Japan, and sail down the Nile. She'd love to do more but is aware of the environmental impact. 'I've never wanted to be known as 'That bloody woman who's always jetting off all over the place!' It has to be for a relevant reason. And all of us have to be aware of what environmental damage we are doing when we take a flight.'
Future Plans and Return to AbFab
When she does jet off, she always brings 'my favourite perfume, Rive Gauche, and my husband!' Asked if she ever takes 'Patsy' home, the answer is a resounding no. 'If I turned up with Patsy's bouffant hair, lipstick smeared across my face, glass in hand and those shoulder pads, Stephen would have left me without a second's thought! Patsy's a wonderful mask that I can hide behind. She allowed me to do all the outrageous things I would never dare to do.'
Following the 2016 Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Lumley would love to return to Patsy and Edina's world. 'If Jennifer [Saunders] told me tomorrow that she's written the scripts, I'd jump at the chance. I loved every minute of playing Patsy. Any actress who said she wouldn't is lying through her teeth!'
