Dame Joanna Lumley says she doesn't have 'much time left'
The star says she has 'started to live day to day'
Dame Joanna Lumley attends the Sands: International Film Festival
Dame Joanna Lumley says she has "started to live day to day" after saying she fears she doesn't have much time left. The 79-year-old actress says she is determined to not waste one minute "of being on this beautiful planet".
The 'Absolutely Fabulous' star said on BBC Radio 2: "As you nearly the top of the hill, you suddenly think, 'Gosh, there's not all that much time left.' My time must be coming quite soon, and I don't want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet. I used to panic when I was young, but as I've got older, I've started to live day to day."
Despite this, Joanna believes that "growing old is good". The actress - who was honoured with the BAFTA Fellowship award back in 2017 - said: "With age, you work out what matters. I always knew that good stuff would come along when I was older.
"When I was 18, I longed to be 30. When I was 30, I longed to be 50. We mustn't be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good." Joanna has enjoyed a hugely successful career, starring in a host of well-known films and TV shows.
And although she celebrated her 79th birthday earlier this month, Joanna recently insisted that she has no intention to retire. The actress said at the SANDS International Film Festival in Scotland: "When I was 16 and told the careers officer at my convent school that I wanted to go into acting, he told me that the only jobs open to me in film would be as a continuity or make-up girl."
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Joanna also acknowledged that attitudes within the entertainment industry have changed in recent times. The TV star - who worked as a model before focusing her efforts on acting - said: "In the past women like me would have been sidelined at 38 - but now there are lead parts for people in their 50s and big parts for those in their 70s."
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