Maureen Lipman hits out at ageism in stars ‘I can dance – I’m good fun!’
She says: “Though Maggie Smith and Judi Dench (both 85)] have done all right, there’s not a lot of drama work for older actresses. And you have to understand that every older actress still thinks that she’s 34. Look at Joan Collins.
“And just because you’re 74 it doesn’t mean that you believe it. Whenever I talk to young people I can never understand why they don’t invite me out clubbing. I can dance and I’m good fun.
“When Rula Lenska and I used to share a flat in Manchester we had a blast. We called ourselves The Rock and The Hard Place.”
Dame Maureen, who portrayed “ology”-obsessed gran Beattie Bellman in the 1980s BT ads, says there is “a certain amount of invisibility” at her age.
