Britt Ekland on her affair with the audience in Edinburgh Festival

06-Aug-2008 • Actor News

One of the more glamorous Fringe debuts this year is that of Britt Ekland - bringing her one-woman show to the Assembly Rooms at the age of 65. But she doesn't find it at all surprising that she is here. "I was trained at drama school and when I got into films I stayed there for longer than I planned," she says, disarmingly to The Telegraph.

"But when I made my theatrical debut at the age of 50, I knew I wanted to do more." The show is autobiographical, a look at a life lived to the full.

Swedish-born Ekland was a Bond girl (Mary Goodnight in The Man With the Golden Gun) who, at the age of 20, married the actor Peter Sellers (17 years her senior) after a whirlwind romance, was divorced at 26, and later had high-profile affairs with, among others, Rod Stewart and Warren Beatty.

She was, she admits, "famous for being famous", which she mostly puts down to the Bond film. "It was one of the most enjoyable things I've done," she says, "but it did nothing for my career because people thought it was all I could do."

Her exploits have had their share of tabloid coverage, so will there be revelations about the Sixties, and sex and drugs and rock and roll?

"Not the kind you're thinking! I married very young, Peter had a major heart attack not long afterwards and we lived a quiet life in the country, so I think the Sixties you're talking about rather passed me by." What about later decades, when she was linked with any number of young beaux? "Ah well, yes. We lived a life that would be shocking today - the excess, the jetsetting, the polluting lifestyle. I see life differently now."

At 65, her beauty is undimmed, but I wonder if in preparing the show she had felt sad about the passing of the years. "Oh no. It has been a very interesting process and in no way am I upset," she says.

"I saw pictures of myself at 20 and even I was stunned. I looked young and blonde and I can quite see how Peter would fall for me." Does she have any regrets? "No. I think regretting things creates bitterness and I am not a bitter person. I think you learn from things and move on; anyone who knows me will know my philosophy is 'Get on with it'."

Ekland says there were two things that attracted her to doing a one-woman show. First, she wanted to set the record straight. "I have spent my career being misreported," she says. "People keep telling me that I am this, that or the other and I think, 'What do they mean?' Much of what has been written doesn't feel like it was me.'

The other - possibly greater - motivation is simply that she loves having an audience - and she is touchingly honest about this. "I love being on stage. I love the attention and the fact that people are focused on me." In what she describes as "a gentle stroll through my life, just me talking about the way it was", there are pictures galore, film clips, costume changes and music.

It will also feature an appearance by her beloved chihuahua, Tequila - an audible presence during our interview and a seasoned performer since he has starred in panto alongside his owner.

Since she has never been to the Fringe before, will she throw herself into Fringe excess? "My show comes down at 7.30pm, so that's a little early to start socialising," she says with a laugh. "Maybe I'll take the dog for a walk first."

'Britt on Britt' is at Assembly @ George St (0131 623 3030) until Aug 25