Is it a constant annoyance that people seem to think it’s OK to ask you to explain how you have chosen to expose (or not expose) your body? AmongstTheWaves
Oh, have I exposed my body? Gosh, I’ve done my damnedest to use black camera tape to hide my nipples and cut my pants so you can’t see anything. The only film in which I expose the front of my body is The Wicker Man. I did a film with John Hurt called Scandal in which there was an orgy and we all had to be semi-naked. I was sitting on a couch in this big old building at the Polish Cultural Institute in [London’s] Exhibition Road, filled with half-naked people. Next to me is John Hurt. The director says: “Sit down” and he’s stark naked. He thought it would be helpful if he was naked, to make everyone feel free. But it doesn’t work that way. Probably like men trying not to look at a woman’s naked breast, I couldn’t help looking. Not that I wanted to see it, but the human mind draws you in. So, I don’t think that is a good question!
You once said that you have never been “anything other than mega famous”. In the world of showbiz, are ego and ambition more important than talent? liblabflab
First of all, I have never in my life used the words “mega famous”. I would never speak about myself that way. Of course, there is a certain amount of ego and self-importance, but you don’t have to throw it around. I think I have always been respectful to my fans and to my fame.
I watched the men’s curling final at last year’s Winter Olympics, where Sweden won Olympic gold. The commentator said your father was a four-time Swedish men’s champion curler during the 50s and former president of the World Curling Federation. Have you ever tried curling? philippeblades
Yes, I did one tournament with my mum, two of my brothers and my father and we won. It’s very cold because you’re so close to the ice because you have to bend down. I have one little silver medal that is for our team, and lots of other silver at home – my father was indeed a very famous Swedish curling champion – so [I have] all his curling trophies. Then he became the captain of the Swedish curling team. He had a great time, but the funniest thing is, he was always known as Britt Ekland’s father.
Was Roger Moore [in Man with the Golden Gun] the perfect gent? CoveRoad
Not only was Roger a perfect gentleman, but he was a perfect specimen of a man. He was very gorgeous to look at. Not my type, but I can appreciate a good-looking man as much as anyone else. He was very friendly, had very good manners and took time with you, and we stayed friends until the end. We didn’t really have any sex scenes. The closest I ever got was [to be] hidden away in the wardrobe or on the boat at the end when M comes on the phone and you see us sailing away. He was very cheeky, but not in a bad way. He’s one of those actors you always felt really comfortable with.
Do you still wear a pinny, like in The Wicker Man? Giantbadger
An apron? I have one and it has my name on it, but no, I have never worn a pinny in public or private. I’m not a fabulous cook, but I’m also not a sloppy person so I don’t usually spill things on myself.
Do you feel you received enough plaudits for the role you played In The Wicker Man? snatchcandy
I think I should, because I’m the only one still alive! Yes, I take my clothes off and, yes, I was – for the sake of argument – the first naked female a lot of young lads might have ever seen. At least, that’s what I’ve been told on social media.
Did you ever ask Michael Caine, why – as a geordie gangster returning home to Newcastle – he had developed a cockney accent? Aqueuetangle
Are we are talking about Get Carter? If you remember, I’m in a hotel room in London and Michael Caine is up in Newcastle. We were never physically in the same room. I met Michael when I first came to London because he was going to play the lead in my first film, which you’ll have to Google. I was under contract to 20th Century Fox, and they sent me to stay in the Dorchester and to meet up in Soho Square to say hello. He mentioned dinner, so we dined in the same company, but we never had any scenes together.
Peter Sellers once quipped: “There used to be a me but I had him surgically removed.” Who was the real Peter you knew during your marriage? gegenpressed
That’s a good question. There was no real Peter Sellers. Peter Sellers only ever lived when he had an audience. He was silent and had no real interests. He had all his gadgets that he loved. But if we ate together, maybe once a week, max, we would go from Elstead in Surrey, where we lived, to the Tiberian in London, which was the big Italian restaurant, just to have dinner with a company of people in which he could become a character, tell fantastic stories and everyone would be dying of laughter. Then we would get back in the car and drive home in silence. I was a beautiful little Swedish, well-educated wife, but I’m very outgoing, I love good company and I love having a laugh. So it was hard.
I recall an interview when you said yours and Rod Stewart’s legs looked so good lying together, which I can well imagine. But who had the longest legs? SurlyRed
He had very thin legs. They were masculine, as they should be, because men have more testosterone. But I have quite a short upper body, but I do have long legs. So the answer is mine.
I saw you live on stage in Run for Your Wife. Was Eric Sykes the funniest man you ever worked with? DubiousReader
He was unbelievable. He was old and had very bad eyesight, but he was amazing, very helpful and very kind. It was my first play, my first time on stage, my first tour, and I loved him. He was truly a fantastic man.
Any plans to do more panto? TopTramp
I did panto for 17 years. I’ve been the Wicked Queen. I’ve been the Genie. I’ve played literally every panto, except Peter Pan. I absolutely love it. It’s probably the hardest work you can ever get, because it’s the middle of the winter when the weather is shit and the theatres are ice cold. You have to stretch yourself, but it’s very rewarding. The audiences are always fabulous and the people you work with, the friendship, the camaraderie, really doesn’t exist anywhere else. But it’s very, very taxing. Although I’m perfectly fit and healthy, I’m not sure I could physically do three shows a day for four or five days in a row. I don’t know if I want to do it, but I miss panto. It’s always a great time of the year.
What did you think of Charlize Theron’s portrayal of you in [2004]’s The Life and Death of Peter Sellers? TurungaLeila2
I was a little dumpy, fluffy, 20 or 21-year-old. She was a tall, thin, gorgeous, 26 or 27-year-old. She was everything I wasn’t, but wanted to be. I thought she was beautiful, but the film wasn’t my life. The way we met and married is actually much more fun, but because I had written a treatment and lodged it with the Screen Actors Guild, and had written a book, I think it was very difficult for them to take words out of my mouth and put them into hers. Then they would have to have paid me.
Were you happier in the swinging 60s or now? davidabsalom
Well, I was married to Peter Sellers in the swinging 60s, and he was 17 years older than me. He had a heart attack very soon after we married. Nothing to do with me, as has been implied! So, no, I never had the swinging 60s. We never went out to clubs, although I did wear miniskirts. I was nursing an older, problematic, man. I’m happier today because I have taken care of myself in the way that I have made myself comfortable.
• The 50th anniversary 4K restoration of The Wicker Man: The Final Cut is playing in select cinemas throughout the summer. The film will be available to own from 25 Sepember as a special five-disc collector’s edition, SteelBook and digital releases.
