I'M AS FIT AS WHEN I WAS 40!'

Birds of a Feather’s Lesley Joseph on friendships, keeping in shape and what she plans on doing next

- SUE CRAWFORD

She might be 78, but that doesn’t stop Birds of a Feather star Lesley Joseph living life to the full. She regularly enjoys fun-filled

adventures with her former co-star Linda Robson, and she’s about to play The London Palladium – as Grandma in a concert version of the The Addams Family musical. And while sadly she says her days playing man-eating Dorien are probably over, she tells us that she’s left the show with life-long friendships, as well as half of Dorien’s wardrobe!

You’re famous for your skimpy attire as Dorien in Birds of a Feather. Are you playing someone just as sexy in The Addams Family? My character is 102. So, for somebody who made their name playing pure glamour in high heels, short skirts, leopard print and dripping with jewellery, this could not be more different! She looks like the oldest woman you’ve ever seen in your life. She dresses in rags with things tied round her head.

Will you make any more episodes of Birds of a Feather?

I don’t think so. People adored that character and I want them to keep the image in their minds of how she was. And Pauline [Quirke] has given up acting really, she just wants to run her drama schools. She loves doing that and it’s been incredibly successful.

Are you all good friends?