Men have no chance today says ‘Aga saga’ queen Jilly

BESTSELLING author Jilly Cooper says that men are being “diminished” and that women are attracted to a “dominant male”.

The writer, 81, dubbed “the queen of the bonkbuster,” is known for racy reads such as Riders, Rivals and Polo.

She said that “everybody is too PC” now and that the Fifty Shades Of Grey series of books were a hit because they feature a “tough man”.

She said: “I read it. The thing I love about her [author EL James] is that she has sold 100 million copies and she is published by my publishers so they can afford me!”

Cooper said: “I think because men are being so diminished now, everywhere – Me Too, Me Too, Me Too. I think Christian Grey is whacking away and he’s a dominant male.

“I think secretly women, although they want to be in the ascendancy, they are quite attracted by the idea of a dominant male... They obviously like a very tough man.”

Cooper, who was a guest at the Oldie Of The Year awards, also revealed that progress on her new novel, set in the world of football, was not as quick as she would like.

“I’m working on a novel about football. It’s going very, very, very, very, very slowly,” she said.

“It’s so difficult. For two years... I have research up to the ceiling and I am just working on the first chapter at the moment, which is shaming.”

She added: “It’s a very complicated game. It’s terribly complicated. I am working on it. I know about all these things that they do, corners and things.

“Riders took me 15 years. I keep saying to myself, ‘Don’t worry darling, it’s only been two years’.”