Anita Harris: ‘The secret to looking good at 76? An inner spirit!’
Singer and Carry On actress Anita Harris talks of her friendship with Dame Barbara Windsor, 45 years of wedded bliss and why she’ll never have surgery
‘Family life just gives you a reason
to be thankful every dayÕ
It’s hard to believe Anita Harris is 76 years old. The Just Loving You singer doesn’t seem to have aged a day since she first shot to screen fame at 25 as Nurse Clarke in Carry On Doctor, and Anita insists it has absolutely nothing to do with going under the knife.
‘Surgery scares the life out of me!’ she tells us. ‘Of course, you don’t want the crow’s feet or to be looking tired when you’re photographed – but, on the other hand, being true to yourself is the main thing.
‘Of course, I’d love to be looking 21 again – it’s human nature – but it isn’t real, and I think I’d rather not have the stress of it maybe going wrong than just accepting that you grow older.’
In fact, Anita – who celebrated 45 years of marriage with her husband and former manager Mike Margolis earlier this year – puts her youthful, glamorous appearance down to an ‘inner spirit’ and her family.
She tells us, ‘I believe in inner spirit, and to be grateful for the life we have and the challenges we have in our life. I had a wonderful upbringing with my darling parents, and still have two wonderful brothers, and I think family life just gives you a reason to be thankful every day for the good things. The odd aromatherapy treatment helps, too!’ One of Anita’s dear friends from her Carry On days – and before – is Dame Barbara Windsor, now 81, and Anita opens up about her former co-star’s battle with dementia.
Reminiscing about their time spent working together, she tells us, ‘When I got the job, she was the first to congratulate me. She’d always be the first at Pinewood Studios at six o’clock in the morning, and the first to put the kettle on in the make-up room: “Nitty, do you want a cuppa tea, love?”. To have that, and now with what’s happening in her life, my love and prayers are with her, and I ring up constantly to find out how she is.’
Like many of the former EastEnders legend’s showbiz pals, Anita is extremely complimentary about Dame Barbara’s doting husband Scott Mitchell, who’s been by her side constantly looking after her.
She says, ‘God’s blessings to both of them. Their love shines through, and when you take the marriage vow – if you’re a little bit over 21 – it’s “for better, for worse”, and the grave times are when you need each other the most.’
She continues, ‘You need to be there for each other, and that’s
what matters the most.
You need to help them remember their golden days and help them treasure the very important moments in your lives.
‘Believing in each other, caring and loving each other is paramount, above everything else when it comes to a happy marriage. I like the feeling of waking up and knowing Mike’s there. We don’t have to tell each other ever, we just know that we love each other.’
As well as Mike, Anita speaks extremely fondly of her late parents throughout our conversation, and cites her memories of being in the kitchen with her mother as the main reason she recently
signed up to take part in this year’s Celebrity MasterChef.
She explains, ‘Years ago, when I was touring, Mike and I would travel down to my mum’s after a couple of shows and Mum would let us sleep in while she’d have a Sunday roast on, and the smell would be amazing. If I wasn’t working, she and I would spend the week together and be so happy to be together in the kitchen. It didn’t matter what time we ate, it was always lovely. sharing that time with the family.
‘MasterChef rekindled my desire to get back to something other than casseroles, fast food and stir fries. I’d recently been touring so much, and only able to eat on the road. I hope my cooking has improved!’
As she prepares to go on tour, Anita tells us she doesn’t see herself deciding to stop performing any time soon.
She says, ‘Living for each day and each moment is very important, and still being able to sing and be creative, not just do the same old things.
‘I still find it very exciting when
I’m offered different things to do, but sharing all of that with Mike is what means the world to me.’