Actor Joanna Lumley criticised explicit sex scenes in film and television, telling Radio Times ahead of her 80th birthday that she feels sympathy for performers asked to act them out.
Lumley said she preferred the “heart” of romance, including falling in love, a brush of the hand or a glance across a room, according to the magazine.
The actor said many viewers enjoy sex scenes but added that she personally does not like them.
She described the process for actors as uncomfortable and performative.
Lumley also used the interview to call for more compassion toward immigrants arriving in Britain.
She said many people seeking entry had fled severe hardship and argued that people should be kinder to those looking for safety.
The comments follow a November 2025 Radio Times interview in which Lumley criticised humanity as destructive and said people needed to make amends for the harm they had caused each other and the planet.
Lumley is set to return to television in the second series of the BBC comedy “Amandaland,” a spin-off from “Motherland,” playing Felicity Sanderson.
