Joanna Lumley has claimed that she has “had no career” and that acting is no different to “painting and decorating”.

The Bafta-winning star started performing in the late 1960s and is known for her roles in The New Avengers, Absolutely Fabulous and, more recently, Amandaland.

But in a new interview, Lumley, 79, said she never had any interest in fame and has been “trying to earn money to keep myself alive”.

“I’ve had no career,” the actor told Radio Times. “I’ve never had any idea of a destiny or where my career would go and I have never ever asked myself, ‘Will this damage my career?’

“I loved acting, so that was going to be my chosen thing.”

Lumley explained that her motivation to embark on the “precarious profession” stemmed from wanting to work so she “could pay the rent”.

“We weren’t longing for stardom,” she said. “We’re jobbing actors and we’re no different, really, from painters and decorators... I’ve just done anything to keep my head above water.”

After working as a model with photographer Brian Duffy, Lumley, who was turned away from drama school, scored her speaking film debut in the1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Her breakout role was as British intelligence spy Purdey in 1976 series The New Avengers and, in 1992, she was cast as boozy fashion designer Patsy Stone in the hit sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. This week, she joins the cast of Netflix blockbuster Wednesday for its second season, playing Grandmama Hester Frump.

Lumley said she repeatedly told herself to “stick around” after being told she was “too old” when she turned 29 in 1975.

However, she praised “the wonderful parts for people as old as me”, calling them “interesting, different looking parts that don’t need a pretty face”.

“Men have always been allowed to be whatever they want to be, but women have always had to look attractive or alluring or something. That’s fading away,” she said.

The actor recently reflected on her mortality, predicting that her “time must be coming quite soon” as several of her “beloved friends are beginning to leave”.

Joanna Lumley’s breakout role arrived in 1976 series ‘The New Avengers’ (ITV)

“As you near the top of the hill you suddenly think: ‘Gosh, there’s not all that amount of time left,’” the actor said. “My time must be coming quite soon and I don’t want to have wasted a minute of being on this beautiful planet.”

Lumley also urged young people to worry less, telling Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2: “I used to panic when I was young, but as I’ve got older I’ve started literally to live day to day.

“With age, you work out what matters. I always knew that good stuff would come along when I was older. When I was 18, I longed to be 30. When I was 30, longed to be 50. We mustn’t be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good.”

Joanna Lumley is ‘Wednesday’ season two (Netflix)

Lumley, who has long been an active human rights campaigner, was made a Dame in 2022 for services to drama, entertainment and charity.

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