Many fans’ hearts were broken when in Skyfall, Judi Dench’s - TopicsExpress

Many fans’ hearts were broken when in Skyfall, Judi Dench’s character, M, was shown to be a mere mortal. What a blessed relief it was to hear that the actor herself plans to go on and on. People really do need to stop asking about her retirement plans, she fulminated this week. “It drives me absolutely spare when they say: ‘Are you going to retire?’ Or: ‘Don’t you think it’s time you put your feet up?’...I loathe it. I don’t want to be told that I’m too old to do something.” She may be 79 (sorry Dame Judi), and suffering from macular degeneration, which means she’s unable to read her own scripts, but thank goodness this silver-haired goddess isn’t about to give up the silver screen - or stage - for a while yet. I can wholly understand her frustration at society’s ageism. But from where I sit, at the relatively tender age of 40, I wonder if she knows how lucky she is. Just look at the fabulous roles she and and her peers have rightly carved out. Dame Maggie Smith (79) is THE reason I tune in to Downton Abbey every Sunday, along with the majestic Penelope Wilton (68) whose Mrs Crawley hangs out with Dame Maggie’s Dowager Countess. And what a treat to have the two Dames - Maggie and Judi - jostling with Wilton for the limelight in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Even Hollywood, never known for its enlightened attitude to gender and race, has started to cast women previously considered past their prime in some of recent cinema’s prize roles. Sandra Bullock dominated Gravity, and while she’s still a spring chicken at 50, it’s hard to imagine studio bosses in days gone by deigning to cast anyone over the age of 30 - let alone reportedly paying them the princely sum of $70m. So Dame Judi should take comfort in the knowledge that acting is getting its house in order. Other industries, however, have much further to go. Take my own profession. I gave evidence to a Lords committee last week which is investigating why there are so few women in broadcasting. There are certainly too few female reporters and experts on screen, though the number of women presenting programmes on national TV has improved. There is, however, an appalling dearth of women over the age of 50 - let alone approaching 60 or 70 - in high-profile jobs. My boss, Channel 4’s head of news and current affairs, Dorothy Byrne (62) was asked recently where all the older women had gone. She pondered jokingly that they were such a scandalously rare breed that perhaps “they’re all dead”. My ITN colleague Penny Marshall told the committee she was “over 50 and proud of it”, but acknowledged that she was “kind of the last woman standing”. The absence of women of a certain age on the small screen in news and current affairs is worrying if you’re a woman planning a long and fruitful career in the industry. At Channel 4 News we have three brilliant correspondents in their 50s – our international editor Lindsey Hilsum, our social affairs editor Jackie Long, and our health and social care correspondent Victoria Macdonald. But that’s far too few and it’s the same across the industry. And as for women in their 60s or even, like Dame Judi, in their 70s? Dream on. The male broadcasting titans, however, are comfortably the wrong side of 60 and 70. My inspirational co-presenter Jon Snow is 67, John Humphrys shows no sign of fading faculties at 71, and David Dimbleby will again be the stalwart of the BBC’s election coverage at the grand old age of 76. The women don’t even get close. I’m pleased that right now female presenters in their 40s, such as ITN’s Julie Etchingham (45) and myself, are no rarity, and it will be good to be able to count on Kay Burley (53) to hold her own in the joint Sky/Channel 4 election broadcast. But will we all be going strong at 76, as Dimbleby is? I hope so. It may sound like it, but this isn’t special pleading: it’s the same story in politics and business. While Theresa May (58) is the grand old lady of the Cabinet – and sole female leadership contender of the future - her female colleagues are mere whippersnappers. Liz Truss is a baby at 39, Justine Greening just 45, and Theresa Villiers 46. And business is still a young man’s world. There are a mere five women who head up FTSE 100 companies. The oldest is Moya Greene, the 60-year-old boss of Royal Mail, but UK plc can’t claim credit for nurturing her as she hails from Canada. The other four are all in their 30s, 40s and early 50s. We have to hope that this will change as time marches on. But right now it seems like a wasted opportunity. Judi, Maggie and Penelope are a trio of glittering stars in our acting firmament. Until older women – a growing demographic group as our society ages – see grand old dames blazing a trail in other walks of life, too many will bow to pressure and put their feet up. And what a tragedy that would be.