Grandmas beauty tips and tricks

Stephanie Beacham

My secret to looking fabulous is... Diamonds, glamour and happiness

Diamonds really are a girls best friend for Stephanie, 64

Stephanie Beacham made her name in the 80s as Sable Colby in Dynasty and The Colbys. She's more recently known for playing Phyl Oswyn in Bad Girls, and Martha Fraser in Coronation Street. She is divorced, with two grown-up children, Chloe and Phoebe.

I like a bit of glitz and glamour. Don't all girls? This morning I was dressed all in white with a pair of gold mules to do the vacuuming. I dont wear tracksuits, or slobsuits as I call them, I just think they're ugly. It's just as easy to put on a sexy pair of jeans.

My grandson Jude calls me Glamma it was my daughter who said, Oh, Mom, you can't be Granny, what can you be? She said, I know, you're Glamma! So Jude has always known me as Glamma. He lives in the UK and he's fab and a very good looking boy. I think we get to be much better grandparents than we were parents. You get another go, but you don't have to take them to the dentist. You know there's a different sort of encouragement. You've got a slight distance - it's not your problem. It's a love that is quite extraordinary. Last year I took trollied just so I could be in Bristol with him. Mind you, I had to audition three times for the part of Lorraine. And it was worth it. Jude comes and spends a month with me in the summer holidays. He's terribly funny.

Being happy is the secret of looking good. I like spending time with real friends and family, and making sure everyone elses needs are taken care of. But the most important thing for happiness is being healthy. Being healthy is so many things being balanced with food and drink, with friends, lifestyle, work health is a huge subject. You can't be happy if you're not well. But I also think if you just try to think of other people just a couple of seconds ahead of thinking about yourself, that can make you feel great.

But her real beauty advice is to get into a regular routine with skincare because from age 30 onwards it's all about "maintenance".

My advice for maintaining a youthful look is to make sure you always take off your make-up before you go to bed. I have never gone to sleep with my make-up on in my life. I cleanse, tone, exfoliate and moisturise religiously. When you get to 30, the maintenance needs to start. You have to make sure you moisturise - it's obvious: if you don't moisturise, you're going to crack. Don't go to bed without moisturising, moisturising your face, neck, knees, heals and elbows everyday is really important and don't just get up in the morning and splash and go. Put your sun block on."

I've had a 25-year love affair with the sun," reflects Stephanie who regularly divides her time between her homes in sun-baked Malibu, California, Morocco and her small apartment in London's Paddington.

"Back in the Sixties we didn't know any better. Now of course we all know how stupid it is to sunbathe. It is the number one reason why we age. And I paid for it big time. I got skin cancer caused by too much sun but fortunately I had it removed. I wanted to undo those years of damage so started investigating how I could stop the clock. I said to myself this ageing process is going to stop now. I didn't want to look younger, just not look any older. I don't want to deny my years but want to look fabulous whatever my age. And the skin is the key to everything: if you don't have great skin, make-up doesn't work and it ages you considerably.

"You don't need to be a maniac about it, but it's good to get into a routine."

If you use the right products you can still have radiance and a dewy skin tone without expensive surgical treatments. I now feel I look better than ever. I don't feel 65 and I refuse to bow to age." She also puts her natural beauty down to regular facials, good diet and exercise and says she feels healthier and happier post menopause.