‘I don’t believe in needles’: Dame Joan Collins, 92, reveals her honest thoughts on Botox, Ozempic and weight loss
Celebrity nutritionist Gabriela Peacock is known for her expert dietary advice, and in HELLO!’s Don’t Judge Me video series the former model has peeked into the fridges of famous friends including the chef Lorraine Pascale, fashion designer Amanda Wakeley and writer Celia Walden.
This week Gabriela, founder of founder of GP Nutrition, joins the actress Dame Joan Collins at her favourite London spot, the luxury Mayfair hotel and restaurant Claridge’s, to discuss her culinary pleasures and favourite dining hotspots.
© Hello!Dame Joan shared her wellness secrets with her friend Gabriela Peacock
Joan, 92, who boasts a career spanning more than 70 years and is perhaps best known for playing Alexis Colby in the TV series Dynasty, is also a bestselling author, an international style icon and a mother of three.
Wedding memories
“I’ve spent so much time in Claridge’s,” Joan tells Gabriela when they meet for lunch. “It has so many memories. It’s where we had our wedding [to Percy Gibson, 24 years ago]… I had my Damehood party here, so it’s almost like a second home to me.”
Joan reminisces about her 2002 nuptials with her producer and actor husband Percy: “It was fantastically wonderful. There were so many friends. Sir Roger Moore. Dame Shirley Bassey sang and everybody got drunk.”
Guests dined on French green beans topped with foie gras, which “so many people do not approve of”, followed by English lamb and peas. “I think we had mashed potatoes. I like very simple food.”
Joan’s drink of choice is a martini, “very dry, nothing in it, or a very good white wine, like Pouilly-Fuissé or a Sauvignon Blanc”.
© Hello!Joan is Godmother to Gabriela’s son Felix
Joan’s culinary favourites
Joan doesn’t usually eat breakfast and the Land of the Pharaohs actress is not one for a late-night snack, either.
“Never, not before I go to bed. I believe our body is a factory, it needs to be fed the right things. If you have a great car, you don’t put inferior petrol into it. I’m very fussy about what I eat.”
Her weakness is milk chocolate, “the cheaper, the better. I treat myself. Why not?”
Dame Joan chats food favourites at Claridge’s
Joan on cosmetic surgery
She believes that “if you feel good, you look good” and exercises up to four times a week. “I think it’s important, but it’s not terribly strenuous any more. You don’t get legs like this if you don’t!”
Of cosmetic surgery, Joan says: “I don’t believe in needles and things. I’ve never had Botox or anything in my face.”
And Ozempic? “I’d never dream of doing something like that. I have seen too many disastrous faces. I think if you’re going to lose weight, you have to cut down. You want to enjoy your life. You don’t want to live on a celery stick.”
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