CAST

Joan Collins

Henry Wakefield
Richard Briers

Vernon Spatch
Mark Hadfield

Tom Newman
Nicholas Farrell

Carnforth Greville
Gerard Horan

Terry Du Bois
John Sessions

Fadge
Celia Imrie

Molly
Hetta Charnley

Nina
Julia Sawalha

Margaretta D'Arcy
Joan Collins

Nancy Crawford
Jennifer Saunders

Mortimer
Robert Hines

Tim
James D. White

Mrs. Branch
Ann Davies

Nina's Father
Edward Dewesbury

"I didn't think of anyone but Joan for this role" says Branagh, "because she is exactly the right mixture of the tough but also rather vulnerable, girlishly enthusiastic creature that Margaretta is. Margaretta just loves the business, loves actors, is a real trouper and has faced triumph and disappointment with equal grace. I think Joan shares those characteristics and she also has a great lightness of touch as a comedienne."

Joan Collins says she has wanted to work with Branagh for a long time. "I've been a fan since I saw "Dead Again" so I've always thought he was a wonderful director" she says. "I went up to him after the premiere of "Frankenstein" and introduced myself and told him how much I would like to work with him."

"When he then offered me this part, it was particularly appealing because I've always wanted to do more comedy and I love stories about actors and their world. My father was an agent so I feel as if I know all about them."

"Margaretta, Joe's agent, is the opposite of almost everyone else in the story. She's more cynical, more realistic, more down-to-earth than the actors. She's really a bit of a philosopher particularly on the subject of all actors being insane, which of course we know they are."

Playing comedy, Collins concedes, is the hardest challenge an actor faces. She recounts the story of the celebrated actor Edmund Kean who is asked on his deathbed by a young student, "Sir, what is dying like?" and he replies, "Dying, my boy, is easy. Comedy is difficult."

Collins' long career working with a wide range of actors in both the US and UK and also the novels she has written which are set in the showbusiness world give her a better perspective than most on her own profession.

She first appeared on the London stage at the age of nine in a production of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and has never looked back. After just 18 months at RADA, she was signed to an exclusive contract by the Rank Organization for whom she made numerous films.

She has since gone on to appear in more than 50 feature films - from the classic "Girl in a Red Velvet Swing" to the recent "Decadence" for Steven Berkoff.

Her television achievements were crowned by seven and a half years as the hateful Alexis Carrington Colby in the hugely popular "Dynasty" which became the top-rated drama throughout the world and positioned Joan as one of television's most memorable characters. She produced and starred in the mini-series "Sins" and also produced the mini-series "Monte Carlo."

After many years' absence from the British stage, Joan returned in 1980 to play the title role in "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney" at the Chichester Festival Theatre and later in the West End. In 1990 she starred in Noel Coward's "Private Lives" at the Aldwych Theatre and later made her Broadway debut in the role.

In addition to her acting career, Joan has found time to write an autobiography, "Past Imperfect," three novels - "Prime Time," "Love Desire & Hate" and published in June 1995, "Too Damn Famous" - and two best-selling beauty books.

Her entrepreneurial skills have also resulted in the Joan Collins Eyewear Collection and the Joan Collins Jewelry Collection.