There's No Hiding Old Age

Having climbed the Scottish Highlands for her film Edie, Sheila Hancock doesn’t feel anywhere near 85, but she says it’s a different story when she looks in the mirror…

- Hayley Minn

Sheila Hancock may be 85, but she shows no signs of old age when it comes to fitness. The actress spent ‘hours and hours in the gym and running up and down hills’ before climbing one of the most difficult mountains in the Scottish Highlands for her new film Edie, as well as camping in the cold while filming – something many people a quarter of her age would struggle doing.

But, when it comes to her looks, Sheila is becoming more and more aware of her age. She tells us, ‘When I did Room 101, I put myself in because I was so sick of looking at myself in mirrors. In this industry, you spend so much time looking at yourself while getting your make-up done and assessing the way you look, and it’s so boring. You think, This face, IÕm sick of the sight of it. So now I don’t wear any make-up. In parts like Edie, you have to look old, so that’s such a relief. Because there’s no hiding it!’

Sheila confesses she’s often patronised by people calling her ‘lovey’ or ‘darling.’