As she celebrates her 65th birthday, TV presenter and author Anthea Turner speaks to Gemma Calvert about her approach to skincare and ageing with confidence, a new addition to her family, and why brands must try harder when talking to those in their 60s
Staying healthy, to the best of your ability, is massively important at any age. We don’t know what’s around the corner. Bad health could affect any of us and so I’ll always do as much as I can to stay healthy for as long as possible.
Unfortunately, a lot of people who are older, and who are not healthy, have made lifestyle choices that haven’t improved their lives. We have one life and it’s not selfish or self-obsessed to be health conscious. It’s our duty to everybody who depends on us to look after ourselves to stay as healthy as we can for as long as we can.
What we eat is one of the biggest problems. You should look at food and think, “Is this going to improve or harm my health?”. I’m a big believer in the 80/20 rule. If 80 per cent of what I eat is a good decision then, of course, I can have a glass of wine, ice cream and cake here and there because they’re good for the soul. But I was brought up in the 60s when sweets and fizzy drinks were seen as a treat. If I oversaw the government, I would ban fizzy drinks.
I do manageable amounts of exercise. I walk my French bulldog Soho, I run and I go to the gym. I fit exercise into my daily routine and I’m a great believer in the Alexander Technique, part of which is about having your shoulders back and standing up straight for good posture. As soon as you do that, your core is engaged so it is being exercised and toned. Walking is one of the best things you can do for your body but we need to walk properly. It doesn’t matter whether you’re walking upstairs, downstairs, to the bus or around the shops, walk with your shoulders back and head up.
The Japanese call the second half of life your “second spring” and I love that idea of a fresh new beginning. I recently set up a competition on my Instagram to win a makeover – a haircut and colour by Lino Carbosiero, make-up by Studio 10 and a brand new outfit from White Coco. Lots of women around my age entered and said why they would like to win. The thread that ran through all the comments was one of lost confidence. So while it’s nice to say the second half of life is the best, the reality for some women is that it isn’t always so.
How your second half goes depends a lot on circumstances but also attitude. Starting from the inside can create external changes. I think we reach a point in life where we no longer think, “I should be this and I should be that”. It’s a time to be accepting and proud of who we are and are still becoming!
It’s our duty to look after ourselves for as long as we can’
I often get asked whether I feel pressure, due to being on TV, to look a certain way. And yes, I am employed in a visual medium so part of that is about how I look and what I wear. And I think that has saved my bacon at times because I have always got up, scrubbed up and shown up, because if I want to work, I need to do those three things. And while I think all of us look in the mirror sometimes and think “What happened?!”, I’m more accepting now. I have a little bit of Botox and filler but I no longer have a bathroom cabinet overflowing with beauty products. I simply use my own brand of skincare, which I created because I wanted to simplify not only my skincare routine but that of other women. Every ingredient serves a real purpose and does something good for your skin, so the result is honest, natural, yet luxurious products that really support your skin and without paying through the nose for fancy packaging and false promises.
I do believe in positive thinking. After my divorce [in 2015, from businessman Grant Bovey] I had four or five sessions of therapy to understand how to change my attitude and rewire the switchboard – and it is possible. My divorce derailed me and I was in a reactive depression, so I needed the tools to get back up again. Without therapy, you can become an echo chamber of your thoughts. You have to get out of those.
Take yourself back to when you were happy and remember the positive energy that you pushed out, which comes back to you. If you’re pushing out negatives, negatives will come back. If I get into a cab with a miserable driver, I think, “Let me change the energy”. I start talking and being upbeat and all of a sudden they start being nice. Practise it. Anybody can try it and it works.
My two ex-husbands and I are now absolutely fine with each other. I speak to Grant most weeks. We’ll talk about the girls, something he’s doing or I’m doing. I have a very good relationship with my first husband [former radio disc jockey] Peter Powell, too. He really likes Mark [Anthea’s fiancé] and was around for supper last month. We were all together chit-chatting.
Mark and I will marry when the time is right. When we do, it will be a continuation of our little story. The wedding hasn’t ever been “pushed back” because we haven’t organised it yet! So many other things have taken priority, from Dad moving closer to us after Mum died, to getting our kitchen fitted, and now we’re sorting out the staircase! When you’re younger, you get married because all your friends are getting married, you want to get a house together or you’re thinking of starting a family – but we’re not thinking of any of those things. You can’t put any of those sensibilities and reasons on two people who are in their early 60s!
The arrival of my first grandchild, Dexter (my stepdaughter Claudia’s son) is a lovely new chapter for the family. Most importantly, it’s wonderful to see Claudia so happy. All you ever want for children in your life is their happiness after you make them independent, able to deal with life and to fly.
Claudia, James and Dexter live quite a long way away, out in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, so while it would be fantastic to see Dexter twice a week, I’ve only seen him a handful of times. I don’t know what he will call me – Claudia calls me Anth so at the moment it’s Granny Anth!
I turned 65 this May! My birthday always goes on for the whole of the month. I love celebrations and was in Tanzania at the time – a place I first visited years ago when I was presenting Wish You Were Here…? in the late 90s. Of all the places I’ve travelled to, Africa is the most beautiful and Tanzania doesn’t get the publicity that Kenya and South Africa get, but it’s a wonderful place.
Every birthday is worth celebrating, but this was a special one so it was nice to do something a bit more unique. Travel is an amazing thing to be able to do. But it doesn’t matter whether you’re going to Tanzania or Tintagel. It’s just lovely to go away and I’m lucky to be in an age group where there aren’t as many ties, making it easier to go away.
‘Your second spring is a time to be proud of who you are’
I’m starting a new career as a travel influencer. I’m now an ambassador for Silver Marketing, an organisation created to help advertisers and marketers talk to this age group.
My dad, Brian, is 92 and if you speak to him on the phone, you wouldn’t have a clue how old is. He’s as interested, awake and alert as he’s ever been. There’s an incorrect preconception of age – not by the people who are that age but among the younger people who work in advertising and marketing. They need help on how to sell their products and services to our age group. It’s wrong to say that if you’re older, you only want to sit in a deck chair on a cruise liner. Maybe some people do but others want to go to Ibiza!
Anthea’s skincare Balm 6 and Body 3 are available from antheaturner.com/shop. Platinum readers can enjoy an exclusive 15% discount on skincare products using code PLATINUM15 at the checkout. Terms and conditions apply.
