Joan told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby how she had attended Margaret Thatcher’s 80th birthday party, saying: “She was very frail then. She was very charming and then she was escorted up to her birthday cake.”
Having gone to work in Hollywood when she was in her 20s, the fascinating actress also spoke of her encounters with some of the biggest stars in the world, including Marlon Brando, who devoured all the ice cream out of her freezer, and Bette Davis, who kicked her across the set when they were in a film together.
Joan also spoke about the pressures she experienced to look screen ready, saying: “One of the things that I talk about in the show was the fact that when I went to Fox and I was 20 and 9 stone and they insisted I lost 8 pounds.”
Insisting she doesn’t go into too many details about her five marriages in the show, she did speak fondly of her love for her husband, Percy Gibson, who is 32 years her junior.
Joan said: “I married a few times but I finally got it right. He’s my partner in crime, we do everything together.
“I saved the best till last. He’s a very special man. He’s loyal, he’s clever, he’s funny and we spend most of the time together… in different parts of the house of course!”
Showing no signs of slowing down or taking life easy she added, “I believe that I might be getting older, but I’m not getting old.”
She shot two movies last year, television programmes and has a book coming out, with much more on the horizon.
One thing Joan will never ever do however is reality TV. She admitted she had been offered a fortune to do shows in the past, but joked that not even good friend Christopher Biggins could persuade her to take part.
