‘It’s like something out of a hoover bag!’ Joanna Lumley, 70, pokes fun at her ‘greasy hair’ and ‘dirty clothes’ as she embraces lockdown life
She’s famed for playing the ultimate glamour puss, Patsy Stone.
Yet Joanna Lumley revealed that she was worlds away from her Absolutely Fabulous character as she discussed how she’s coping with life in lockdown.
Appearing on Wednesday’s Loose Women, the 70-year-old actress quipped you can get away with having greasy hair and dirty clothes, as they can’t be picked up on a webcam.
Keeping it casual: Joanna Lumley revealed that she was worlds away from her Absolutely Fabulous character as she discussed how she’s coping with life in lockdown
Discussing the impending return of hairdressers, Joanna confessed she won’t be rushing to the salon anytime soon, and why she has been embracing greasy locks.
She explained: ‘I’ve always done my own hair. It’s partly because I kind of can do it.
‘I was a model in the 60s; we had to do our own hair then, we had to sort it, do it, put on wigs, cut it, change it, dye it… so I got used to doing my own hair.’
She continued: ‘My hair is like something you take out of a hoover bag. I practically never wash it. It’s been dyed for so long and so much, it’s been in such extremes of temperature, I don’t think it’s hair at all…
‘The camera is strangely very forgiving, it doesn’t see dirty clothes, it doesn’t see dirty hair – you can get away with quite a lot on camera.’
‘In ordinary life, I don’t wash it for a week. Sometimes I find I don’t wash it for a fortnight.
‘If it did need washing, I’d wash it… Leave it if you can, go greasy and oily and then wash it.’
Looking good: Appearing on Wednesday’s Loose Women, the 70-year-old actress quipped you can get away with having greasy hair and dirty clothes, as they can’t be picked up on a webcam
Whilst Joanna showed her appreciation for certain aspects of lockdown, she admitted she is missing her grandchildren terribly.
Revealing that they live in Scotland, where lockdown restrictions are stricter than England, she mused: ‘It’s been ghastly, but thank goodness for things like this where we can sort of “meet” each other.’
She added: ‘When I was a child I didn’t see my father for a year and a half when he was a soldier and I was back at school in England. You just pinch ourselves, this has only been three months. We have to be brave and strong.’
Joanna added of life in lockdown: ‘I’m so lucky, in my lockdown I’ve been working, I’ve been doing voiceovers and recordings and studios with masks and sitting alone in a private booth.
‘Even though I’m 74, I feel 39, sweetie…’
Despite being kept busy with work, Joanna revealed that she had heard nothing about a return to her most iconic role.
Fabulous: Despite being kept busy with work, Joanna revealed that she had heard nothing about a return to her most iconic role as Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous
Asked about rumours of an Ab Fab reunion, she said: ‘I wish they’d tell me! I don’t think it will be. I don’t think Jennifer [Saunders] ever wants to write anymore Ab Fab.
‘But it never really goes away, the feeling these characters still exist somewhere. It would be so nice maybe to do something. Jennifer and I are in constant contact.
‘We’re half thinking of something, but it won’t be “Ab Fab: The Reunion”. And I don’t think we should do it without June Whitfield… but maybe something, never say never.’
Of how her Ab Fab character Patsy would deal with lockdown, Joanna laughed: ‘I don’t think she’d notice it sweetie as long as someone brought her a drink.’
Apart: Whilst Joanna showed her appreciation for certain aspects of lockdown, she admitted she is missing her grandchildren terribly (pictured with husband Stephen Barlow and her granddaughters in 2010)