There’s nothing quite like getting into full medieval costume at eighty-five and finding out it’s still one of the best days you’ve had all year.

I’ve just wrapped an advert for Ffern, the beautiful natural perfume house from Somerset. They create organic, small-batch fragrances released just four times a year, at each turn of the season, and their scents really are stunning.

The idea behind the shoot was lovely: a cast of us, plucked from the twelfth century, in full costume and character, trying their new Summer 26 fragrance for the first time on camera. I said yes to the full mail hood and coif without a second thought. Heavy, yes. Worth every minute, also yes.

I’ve always loved a bit of role-play, and stepping into a costume like that, alongside such a talented group of actors, took me right back to why I adore performing in the first place. 

The people made it, too. The cast, the crew, everyone on set brought such warmth and professionalism, and there’s something rather lovely about a team who are simply there to do good work and enjoy themselves while doing it.

Age has never been a reason to say no. If anything, it’s given me more reasons to say yes.

Watch the full ad below