Is age really just a number? Just ask Nanette Newman, who seemed to confirm the old saying while accepting her latest award in London on Wednesday.
The veteran actress, who celebrated her 90th birthday in May, was accompanied by her son-in-law Sir John Standing, also 90, at the annual Oldie Of The Year ceremony, held at The Strand.
Despite being just three months apart in age, the pair were on hand to accept the In-Laws of the Year Award, with Newman, known to millions as the face of Fairy Liquid, looking remarkably youthful as they took to the stage.
Accepting the award, he told guests: “I woke up one morning and felt 104 years old, one of those mornings when there were bills and everything was horrible.”
But upon opening one of those letters and discovering that she and Standing had won an award, the actress joked that she “feels maybe 82 and a half now.”
Is age really just a number? Just ask Nanette Newman, who appeared to confirm the old saying as she accepted the Oldie Of The Year award alongside her son-in-law Sir John Standing on Wednesday.
Newman gained a new legion of fans after landing a role as the face of Fairy Liquid in 1980, starring in a series of commercials for the detergent brand throughout the decade.
Standing added: “It was wonderful to receive an award from a magazine I’d never actually read.”
The actor, whose film roles include ’70s classics The Eagle Has Landed and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, is married to Newman’s daughter Sarah Forbes, 65, whose father was the famous British film director Bryan Forbes.
Trained by RADA, Newman starred in nine of her late husband’s films, including the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives and The Raging Moon, for which she earned a BAFTA nomination in 1971.
She would gain a new legion of fans after landing a memorable television role as the face of Fairy Liquid in 1980, starring in a series of commercials for the detergent brand throughout the decade.
Other winners on Wednesday included director Mike Leigh, 81, who received the Silver Screen Golden Oldie in honor of a lifetime of classic films including Abigail’s Party and Secrets And Lies.
Daily Mail cartoonist ‘Mac’ (Stanley McMurtry), 88, took the Oldie Lead-in-his-pencil award.
During the pandemic, Mac drew a police car chasing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, with an officer yelling ‘Oy! Two meters away!’
Previous prestigious winners include Oscar winners, Nobel laureates, community care nurses, veteran athletes and Queen Elizabeth II, who turned down the award.
Despite being just three months apart in age, Newman and Standing accepted the In-Laws of the Year award, and the actress looked remarkably youthful as they took the stage.
The RADA-trained Newman starred in nine of her late husband Bryan Forbes’ films, including the 1975 classic The Stepford Wives (pictured).
Newman was 21 years old in 1955, two years after making his big screen debut in Personal Affair.
Other guests on Wednesday included author Jacqueline Wilson, 78, Coronation Street star Dame Maureen Lipman, 78, news presenter Angela Rippon, 80, and former rocker Billy Wyman, 88, who He attended with his wife, the actress.
The musician received the most prestigious award of the evening, Oldie of the Year, from presenter Gyles Brandreth, a far cry from the praise he received during his hellish past with the Rolling Stones.
The Oldie of the Year Awards are organized annually by The Oldie magazine.