At 79, Joanna Lumley has always been refreshingly honest about her approach to health and wellbeing. Now, speaking to The Telegraph, she has revealed the suprisingly normal secrets of her daily routine – and the one dietary habit she relies on to keep her health in check.

The Absolutely Fabulous star has been vegetarian for 45 years – and research suggests that vegetarians might live up to eight years longer on average than meat eaters, thanks to a reduced risk of developing chronic illnesses like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Joanna says: ‘I love animals. I don’t want to kill them, so I never eat meat or fish.’ She calls vegetarianism ‘easy-peasy’ – and she also adds that moderation is key to maintaining her health. ‘I smoke cigarettes, not a great deal. I drink, not a great deal. I drink water.’

In fact, taking a ‘middling line’ has always been part of her lifestyle. ‘As an actress, you keep a middling line: don’t get too fat, don’t get too thin, don’t get too anything, don’t be too extreme, so you can be moved quickly into whoever you’re portraying.’

She also revealed to The Telegraph that she cuts her own hair and washes her face ‘with whatever soap’s lying on the side of the bath and hot water’.

joanna lumley health secrets
Dan Kennedy

Joanna has previously said that she relies on doing everyday activities ‘with vigour’ to maintain her shape – choosing to put her energy into chores and housework... and climbing the stairs ‘two at a time’.

‘I look after myself,’ she explained in an interview with My Weekly magazine. ‘I don’t go to the gym but I do stuff with vigour, such as housework, gardening and going up the stairs two at a time.’ This approach to staying in shape – known as NEAT (or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis – refers to any movement you do that isn’t intentional exercise, and research suggests it’s crucial for weight management and health, helping to offset a sedentary lifestyle. Now there’s no excuse not to weed those flowerbeds...