Felicity Kendal believes she is more of a "mature cat" rather than a "sex kitten"

Speaking about the title, the 'Rosemary & Thyme' star said: "I'm more of a mature cat now! Well I think I used to be [a sex symbol], but it's a bit alarming to be thought of as a sex kitten at my age."

The blonde beauty admits she loves to have chats with her friends in which they rank the attractiveness of guys and she's happy for men to do the same and thinks people shouldn't be too precious about taking a compliment.

She shared: "There's nothing wrong with the feminine side. Sometimes, when I'm with my girlfriends and we're having a coffee somewhere, we might see some man and we'll say, 'My God, he looks fit!' Well that's not an insult. In the same way, a man might say, 'My God, she's attractive.' I mean it's about the attitude behind it. But if it's a compliment then it's fine. It's a very complicated area."

Meanwhile, Felicity is set to star in the theatre production of the late Peter Shaffer's 1978 comedy 'Lettice and Lovage' at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in May this year, which will see her play the role of Lettice Douffet, and she wishes the playwright was still alive to direct her.

She told The Daily Mail newspaper: "It's such a lovely tribute to him, and I hope we do him proud. I wish he was here to tell me how to do it - but Trevor [Nunn] will do that."