'You can sit and look backwards or embrace getting older'

She might be approaching 80 but Loose Women panellist Janet Street-Porter has no plans to stop "ruffling feathers

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Janet Street-Porter is so unashamedly honest, witty and entertaining that you wish you could spend days, not hours in her company. Described on her own website as "the nation's favourite pissed-off pensioner", this is a woman with plenty of stories to tell.

The Loose Women stalwart, who turns 80 next year, vibrant red hair still intact, spills the beans on her recent surgery and her riotous UK tour Off TheLeash in our exclusive chat - also telling us why she believes a rant is good for the soul.

With her famous cackle, she says she's truly on her way to becoming a bionic woman. She recently had her right knee "done" following a hip replacement last year and a left knee replacement eight years ago.

Up on her feet just two hours later, albeit full of painkillers, she says: "I was walking to the loo without a stick, waving my arms around and showing off." But she admits she has since come down from that high and is still in a lot of pain. "I'm walking around fine but at night the nerve pain is shocking. Really bad. I'm putting loads of ice on it but... you've just got to tough these things out," she says. It's hard to imagine someone like Janet wallowing. And she believes it's a choice you make, saying: "You can either turn into someone who sits there and looks backwards, or embrace getting older, talk about the downsides but celebrate the upsides."

With her milestone birthday next December, we ask if there's a big star-studded bash in the works. She admits she's not sure yet, reminding us she's had plenty in her time, attended by the likes of I'm A Celebrity star Ruby Wax, James Bond actor Daniel Craig and her close pal of 40-odd years Sir Elton John.

She's unsure how she feels about turning 80.