Joanna Lumley reveals plan to celebrate her 80th birthday
Dame Joanna Lumley will not host a big birthday party to celebrate turning 80.
The former 'Absolutely Fabulous' star reaches the milestone age on May 1, 2026, but Lumley doesn't enjoy a huge fuss on her birthday and will instead hope she will be working when her big day comes around.
Speaking to the new issue of Closer magazine, she said: "When I was growing up, I was always at school for birthdays. Always at school. So, we never did stuff. The idea of birthday parties repels me. Not because of anything, I just don't know why you would ever do it.
"I love having birthdays, but the idea of doing a big party to say, 'Me, I'm 112.' Why would you do that? Or, 'Me, because I'm 57.' Why have that, why have a party? So, on my big special day, fingers crossed I'll be working. It's always good to be working on your birthday."
Luckily for Lumley she has plenty of acting roles and TV jobs.
The British screen icon has earned critical acclaim for her performance as Felicity Sanderson, the mother of Lucy Punch's character Amanda Hughes in BBC sitcom 'Amandaland' - which is a spin-off of the successful comedy series 'Motherland'.
Lumley admits it is a role she is very proud of.
She said: "I love 'Amandaland'. I love Lucy's character - I love them all, actually. It's beautifully cast."
Lumley and Lucy previously worked together on 2004 film 'Ella Enchanted' and she has fond memories of that shoot.
Jonna added: "She played my daughter before. We did a film together in Ireland with Anne Hathaway playing the Cinderella figure. Lucy was playing one of the bad stepsisters and I was the evil stepmother. This is how life goes on - I'm now her evil mother! Not evil, Felicity is not evil."
Lumley has also become a prominent travel documentary maker in recent years and in her latest ITV travel series 'Joanna Lumley's Danube', she travels 1,770 miles along the River Danube. visiting Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and taking a detour to the Ukrainian border before reaching her final destination the Black Sea.
Whilst she was in Romania the former 'Absolutely Fabulous' star spent time with a group of white witches and after taking part in the ceremony Lumley was presented with an amulet which she was told would keep her safe on her trip.
In a previous interview with the Daily Express Saturday magazine, she said: "They work with the elements - earth, air, water, fire - to bring peace and ward off negativity.
"They were so glamorous. They used masses of candles for their ceremony. The camera boys nearly died from the heat. Then they gave me an amulet to take me safely on the rest of my journey."
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