'Strictly' star tired of age remarks

Strictly Come Dancing star Cherie Lunghi has admitted that she is tired of being promoted as the programme's 'older woman'.

The 56-year-old actress confirmed that she is bemused by the comments she has received from the show's judges, who have mentioned her age in their assessments each week.

"They do keep going on about this, don't they?" Lunghi told The Guardian. "And you're not old until you're in your 70s... But everyone's obsessed with the packaging now. That's the trouble."

"I've been thinking about this in the bath and in the car on the way to work," she continued. "I've been thinking, how can I turn this into something more honest, less clichéd, and pull it the way I want it to go? I mean, what's the big deal? We're talking numbers."

Lunghi has also been quizzed about her age by members of the production crew, who film her rehearsals with dance partner James Jordan.

She explained: "We're doing the salsa, and they said 'Well, how do you feel about being sexy, as the older woman?' I didn't answer the question because I thought: 'I don't quite get this question.'"