Taking some time out to look after number one
IS IT possible to stop the ageing process and turn back the clock?
That was the question on eight well-loved celebrities’ lips as they jetted off to sunny Sardinia for new ITV documentary 100 Years Younger in 21 Days.
With the likes of Claire King, June Brown, Sherrie Hewson and Shaun Ryder on board, the four-part series kicks off with the famous faces undergoing scientific testing to uncover the biological age of their face, brain and body versus the reality (expect disappointment!).
The group are then pushed to their limit with a strict diet and exercise routine, and subjected to cutting-edge anti-ageing treatments, in a bid to lose a century between them in three weeks.
It was an invite that King, best known for her portrayal of Emmerdale’s villainous Kim Tate, couldn’t turn down.
“My main aim was to kick-start my fitness again,” she confides, having suffered for years with rheumatoid arthritis.
“I lost my dog, I stopped the walking, I don’t ride the horses anymore and I only do a little bit of hacking about,” she says. “And I’m just working all the time.”
She adds: “I was sporty at school and I’ve kept that going throughout my life, so I haven’t gone totally overweight. [But] I just fully embraced anything that was thrown at me.
“I was there to make myself better, healthier, fitter, whatever,” she says. “But the mental side wasn’t so good.”
While she took to the exercise, viewers will see that King’s brain age is diagnosed as significantly older than her 55 years – a result she puts down to an inability to switch off.
“I’m an immediate doer, so I am always thinking, ‘Right, what’s the next thing I’ve got to do?’” reasons the Bradford-born actress.
“I’m always at it, not necessarily just learning lines all the time, but with having disabled parents and caring for them and the various things going on in my life,” she adds. “I put it down to that.”
It’s stress-related, she reveals: “I’ve got to start putting myself further up the list and stop looking after everybody else in the world. I need to chill out more.”
Just last year King took part in Channel 5’s In Therapy, during which expert Mandy Saligari came to the same conclusion.
Admitting the TV appearance didn’t come without nerves, the former soap star broke down in tears as she relayed the loss of her best friend to the Harley Street therapist, as well as opening up about her painful marriage breakdown with ex-husband Peter Amory.
“That was a big one,” she says. “But that’s why I’ve booked a holiday – I’m going to take it a lot easier. [It’s about] not having to do everything every day.
“It’s been a learning curve and it’s reaffirmed a lot of things that have been said,” she concludes. “And when you have it said two or three times, you’ve got to take note and act on it.”
Since landing her first acting gig over three decades ago, it’s fair to say King has remained in the spotlight. In addition to her 10-year stint on Emmerdale, she made her mark as Governor Karen Betts in Bad Girls; earned her stripes on the reality TV circuit with runs on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother; and took to the Corrie cobbles as Erica Holroyd.
“I’ve played quite a few [roles], but everyone thinks I’ve just done the soaps,” she quips. “Kim Tate? I get it every day! But I’ve got nothing against her, she’s fabulous.”
She is keen to make it known that’s not all her repertoire contains, however.
“I go somewhere and someone will say, ‘Oh I didn’t know you did that!’” she says. “I’ve done a lot of comedy, so that’s something I really enjoy doing.
“But I love doing drama [too]. It’s great fun and you can get a good set of people that you work with for quite a long time. Bad Girls was fantastic – I did that for about six years and it was great.”
Has she seen more opportunities come her way in recent years?
“I’ve been lucky because I have worked and I’m still here,” she responds.
“There’s quite a few that just haven’t been able to do that and it’s something that you are made conscious of – look at all the news at the moment.”
Of sexual discrimination, she says: “I’ve got enough balls to turn around and say, ‘Right, fine, I won’t take the job’. I’m one of those. So yeah, I’ve probably screwed up some jobs by not doing it, but I’m in a better place.”
She continues: “As for the age thing, I think every women who has got into her 40s suddenly goes from the tart with the heart and the young pretty thing to the lawyer, middle-aged.
“There are great parts written for that age, but very few and far between. And then you’re moving into, not Driving Miss Daisy, but somewhere heading that way, and they are better parts. The character parts.”
100 Years Younger in 21 Days starts on ITV on Tuesday, February 27.