She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, but Dame Joan Collins shows no signs of slowing down. The iconic British actress and author may be many decades away from her Dynasty days, but she still has a work and social diary to rival her Alexis Colby character.
At 90 years old, Dame Joan is celebrating her 19th book, Behind The Shoulder Pads, an upcoming UK tour of her new one-woman show, and last year marked her 20th anniversary with her beloved husband Percy Gibson, 58 - who she remarkably describes as the 'best lover I'd ever had' in her memoir.
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Getty Images)In a recent interview with the Daily Mirror, Dame Joan opened up about her relationship in a way she never has before, after years of enduring ribbing about her 'toy boy' hubby. Percy, who is 32 years her junior, is her dream other half and proof that it's not always third - but sometimes fifth - time lucky. "Everyone says how lucky I am. And how good he's looking right now!" Dame Joan said proudly, admitting herself: "It is fifth time lucky. I've been feeling that for years. He's a wonderful, kind, truly good man. He's my – what's the thing he always says? – my accomplice, yes, and my best friend. Plus he's extremely handsome – and he just gets better and better."
The pair first met in 2000 and bonded over dinners on the road, when Dame Joan was 67 and touring the US, and Percy was her 36-year-old divorced producer, of Peruvian and Scottish descent. At the time, she was with actor Robin Hurlstone and it led to a very messy marital affair and break-up, but one that was worth it. "Percy and I became really good friends first," she said. "So we had this connection. We really knew each other." In 2002, the lovebirds decided to tie the knot and married at London's Claridge's. In Percy's beautiful wedding speech, he said: "Joan is my accomplice, my comrade, my confessor, my confidant, my fearless leader and my most loyal supporter, my very best friend."
On the secret of their marriage Dame Joan revealed: "Every morning before he goes for a run he brings me a coffee in bed while I read all the papers. My mum used to read the Daily Mirror... And he leaves me little notes under the kettle." She added: "And separate bathrooms is key! Although we are very lucky. I know that's not something everyone can have... He has his office area and I have mine. I'll spend time in mine writing or phoning my friends. And he'll be working, looking after our three properties. Then we'll do something together. Like any couple we have our ups and downs. We do occasionally argue - it's normally when we're working together."
While they are three decades apart, Percy's Peruvian heritage gives him a refreshing attitude to the age gap. "The age difference didn't matter to him," Dame Joan said. "In Peru, if a woman is attractive, she's attractive. They don't think about it." She admitted the pair of them bicker from time to time but are happy in love together, whether it's working on her tour as a team or binge-watching an old box set of Dynasty to see herself as the formidable Alexis on telly. "Percy will be asking what happens next with Blake and Alexis and I have no idea! I can certainly see why it was as popular as it was," Dame Joan said.
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