Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
32Retire? I will never bow out
I may be old Bird but I’ll work till I drop says Lesley
LESLEY Joseph whips her kit off on stage eight times a week and, even at 73, cannot BARE the thought of retiring.
The Birds of a Feather star is lapping it up in Calendar Girls and vows: “I will work till I drop.”
Lesley is perfectly comfortable with getting older and admits her job helps to keep her young.
She says: “Just look at my face. I’ve always played character parts, so ageing has never been a problem for me. I was lucky never to have been the juvenile lead. The secret of ageing carefully and properly is exercise, both mental and physical.
“I’m always having to learn lines, which keeps my brain agile. And I walk everywhere. In London I’ll get off the Tube early and walk a couple of stops.” If genetics are anything to go by, mother-of-two Lesley could work for decades.
She adds: “My mother, Vicki, was an inspiration. She died just short of 104. She gave up badminton at 90, played tennis beyond that and was line dancing until 96. She was an amazing woman.” In Calendar Girls – currently at the Birmingham Hippodrome – Lesley strips every night. She goes on: “Who’d have thought I’d be getting my kit off eight times a week in public aged 73? We had a man come over from France who choreographed the scene where the girls are photographed nude.
“I hide my bosom behind a piece of knitting. Then the girls walk towards the audience behind a giant cracker. It’s hysterical.
“If you could see these naked women, all shapes and sizes, the way I can see us, you’d crack up.
“I’ve had letters from people who say ‘I laughed. I cried. I lost my husband eight weeks ago. I didn’t think I could carry on. But you’ve given me hope’.” After she leaves Calendar Girls in Eastbourne in August, Lesley returns to her familiar role as the ginguzzling Miss Hannigan in the tour of Annie. Then it’s back to Birmingham as the Wicked Queen in Snow White at Christmas.
“The last five years have been the busiest of my life,” she says.
“I haven’t a clue what comes after panto. That’s eight months away. I’m not worried. You never know what’s round the corner.”
Lesley starred as Dorien in 140 episodes of Birds of a Feather alongside Pauline Quirke, 59, and Linda Robson, 61.
She admits: “Dorien changed my life, no question. She’s been my career milestone. The part had been written for me and I was determined to make the most of it.
“I would love to do Chekhov at the National or Shakespeare at the RSC but I accept it may never happen. I’m seen as a comedy actress.”