Joan: Ageism in the UK is just horrible
By Mark Jefferies
DAME Joan Collins has criticised the Government’s stance on the coronavirus, calling it “ageist”.
The actress, 86, said it should not just be age taken into consideration when people are advised to stay at home as much as possible.
Joan said: “I’ve always thought Western society was terribly ageist, and I don’t just mean showbiz folk but across the board.
“Then the UK Government insisted the over-70s, horrible expression, were part of the vulnerables, an even more horrible expression, and should remain in lockdown, the most horrible expression of all, until a vaccine is found.
“That was utter discrimination against the hardy individuals who have no health issues.
“But more harmful was bolstering the existing belief among the general public that the old should keep out of everyone’s way.
“I married a man three decades younger, and at my last check-up my GP said I was ‘stunningly healthy.’
“I am lucky to possess enormous energy and enthusiasm for life. In fact, my husband is often quoted as saying that I had to marry a younger man as my pace would probably have killed someone my own age by now.
“There are hundreds of thousands of others who feel the same way.”
Joan went on to highlight how her friends are also being badly treated.
She claimed TV star pal Christopher Biggins, 71, was accosted twice by “coronags” when out and about and was told he should be at home.
She added: “Sadly, ageism is the last tolerated prejudice. We are not allowed to refer to people as fat and yet it has now been proven that to be obese – almost one third of the UK population – is one of the major contributing factors in Covid-19 deaths.
“However, if the Government had dared to propose that they too should remain confined it would cause outrage. And this patronising insult of isolation, well intentioned as it may be, is the final straw on top of all the ageist abuse I have received since I was 40. I will not be chucked on to the scrap heap of life, like a little lamb to the slaughter, because of my age. And neither will many of my friends.”
Her views were shared by TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh, who said over-70s should not all be forced to self-isolate during the pandemic.
The Daily Express columnist, 71, said the lockdown restrictions should depend on a person’s health and not be a blanket ban defined by age. Alan said: “It’s wrong to have told over-70s regardless of their health that they will be confined, and a mistake that this policy has not changed.
“People aged 45 with underlying health conditions are at far greater risk than hearty 70-year-olds. Your GP should decide if you need to stay at home. My health is generally good, the usual aches and pains.”