Joan Collins on love, loss and lust at 90: ‘You have to eat life or life will eat you!’

‘I inherited my father’s outspokenness – he never held back’ … Joan Collins at home. Photograph: Pal Hansen/The Guardian

Joan Collins steps out of the chauffeur-driven limo – white frock, wide-brimmed white hat, huge shades, rocks on her fingers. Even if she wasn’t Joan Collins, you would stop to look. Some people just have the air of a star. At 90, hers shows no sign of waning – although, as she reminds me a number of times, we don’t discuss age in Dame Joan’s world.

This is one of her favourite restaurants, close to her home in south-west London. We are here to talk about her new one-woman show and book, called Behind the Shoulder Pads. The head waiter directs us to our table in the corner. He is delighted to see Collins. And Collins is delighted to be here. She loves her food.