Sex and the chance to moan about men

I SHOULD have been the ideal demographic for Sex And The City. I’m the right age and gender, and I like shopping and moaning about unromantic men as much as the next two-faced feminist.

I’ve also met Kim Cattrall a few times – a smart, funny sister who has been honest and outspoken on unglamorous issues such as insomnia and the menopause.

She’s also much more practical than her Samantha role. We did an event together for the Edinburgh Film Festival and, minutes before going onstage, she hopped out of her comfy trainers and into a pair of lethal stilettos because ‘life’s too short for hobbling’. Yet I struggle to get on board with the 20th anniversary celebrations of Sex And The City, especially the claim that the show – also starring Sarah Jessica Parker, pictured – was a milestone that changed depictions of women forever. That’s as hard to swallow as SATC’s four-way friendship. Honestly, in what world would Charlotte’s old money prude be besties with Samantha’s hardboiled sexbomb? At its best, the show offered some decent jokes, and advice on key issues such as homes with shoe storage.

However, far too often the show seemed to be about four women with interesting jobs who met up to talk about men.

Twenty years on, we have films such as Book Club, about Jane Fonda and her circle of novel-consuming cronies, and TV shows such as The Split, where Nicola Walker leads a family of high-powered female lawyers.

And what is the main topic for the women in these dramas? Still blokes, I’m afraid.