Once women are over 45, that doesn’t mean they lose interest in fashion or looking good. 
No matter what your age, you want to look as good as you can. Fashion is one of the last bastions of ageism — it’s only now it’s starting to change and companies are realising that women like me have money to spend and we want styles that will suit us. The ‘grey pound’ has a lot of power!

Follow a few simple rules and you can look good whatever age you are.
It’s not about slavishly following fashion as you get older — it just won’t work. Instead, take elements of fashion that you like and make them work for you. For instance I love dresses but at my age I want sheer sleeves that will help to disguise upper arms, or a well cut jacket with short sleeves that I can wear over a gorgeous dress. You can definitely take trends and make them work for you — the old rules about not being able to wear some things because you’re past a certain age don’t apply any more. It’s about what suits you.

You need to accept your body changes as you get older.
The fat that was once on your bum seems to shift round and gives you a midriff! That’s something to bear in mind when you’re shopping for clothes. A flattering cut that can help you to disguise, that nips and tucks you in the right places, can make such a difference. Emphasise the waist and skim the tum and you’re halfway there. 

I was thrilled to become the face of Isme. And modelling is a piece of cake once you’ve stripped on stage.
I love being the face of a range for women who don’t want to wear slacks and fade into the background once they reach a certain age. I’ve toured in the Calendar Girls stage play twice, once in 2008 and once this year. It was hard work but I loved getting out of London and going round the country to different theatres. Having to strip on stage was daunting at first, even though the audience didn’t actually see anything. It was teasing and all about the possibility something might go wrong live on stage. Modelling was easy after that!

There was a ‘no men’ backstage rule for the stripping scenes.
That worked well until we were playing in Glasgow. As I started to take my clothes off, I suddenly became aware there were two big hairy Glaswegian men standing in the wings watching me. I had no choice but to get on with it!

I’ll always love Loose Women.
When I was on tour I still appeared on the show every Monday and I really enjoyed that. Plus I wanted to make sure people didn’t forget me — there’s always someone around waiting to step into your shoes. The rest of the time I watched the show like any other viewer and shouted at the TV like everyone else does! Loose Women has been great for me — it came at just the right time when my career was going through a quiet spell and I was very disheartened as an actress. It gave me a real boost.

I was the Oxo mum — now I should be the Oxo granny.
I had a meeting with Oxo a few years ago and it was discussed. I think it would work perfectly — the adverts were such a great success and it would be a natural progression. It would really tap into family life in this country. 

When I turned 60 I felt sexier than at any other time of my life.
I honestly believe there are some people who are good at certain ages. I realised very early on that I was never going to be a film star as I didn’t have those kind of looks. I got the character parts, I was always the friend of the pretty girl! That was fine and I accepted that. But I think now that I don’t look too bad for my age and as you get older, you gain in confidence and feel more sure of yourself, despite certain sections of the media trying to wind us up and make us feel inadequate. I do feel better now than I ever did.

Going through hard times has made me appreciate the life I have now. (Lynda had two failed marriages and both her birth mum and adoptive mum developed Alzheimer’s disease.)
All I’ve been through really makes me appreciate the small things in life. I have gone through hard times. My childhood was amazing and my parents were fantastic, so to then grow up and find there were angry, frightening people in the world was a massive shock. I believe you need to grasp the moment and seize opportunities. I got married for a third time on my 60th birthday to Michael and I’m working more than ever — if you’d told me 20 years ago that’s how my life would be at 62, I’d never have believed you. 

Older actresses are getting better all the time.
Look at the likes of Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench. All have had fantastic careers and are showing no signs of fading away — and why should they? We’ve still got lots to offer.

Lynda is wearing clothes from 
the current Isme range. 
See www.isme.com or 
phone 0844 811 8112.