Want a hit show? Then cast more older actors, says the stage and TV veteran.

Since I first found fame in the ITV drama Rock Follies in the mid-1970s I've usually been in demand as an actress on television - in 2011 I played mischievous hairdresser Claudia Colby in Coronation Street, as you may remember. I'm lucky in a way. I have a recognisable voice, the stature - I'm descended from Polish aristocracy - as well as loads of hair. In short, I still possess a certain 'glamour' - although I don't look so glamorous first thing in the morning! [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]