Linda Lusardi, the former glamour model, has said she is “proud” to be turning 60 and no longer tries to hide her age.

The actress, who has starred in shows including The Bill, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, will celebrate the milestone in September.

Speaking to The Sun, Lusardi said: “Up until I turned 50 I was wary of the fact I had cellulite and flabby bits here and there. I’d hide it all away.

Linda Lusardi
Linda Lusardi says she no longer tries to hide her age as she prepares to turn 60 (Joel Ryan/PA)

“Now I’m turning 60, I think, ‘I know I’ve got those things but I still look all right for 60’, so I don’t care any more.

“I will wear a bikini in the garden and on holiday but won’t go topless on the beach — just in case someone recognises me and takes a picture!”

She added: “I’m really proud to be turning 60 next month and I get lots of nice comments. I don’t try to hide my age.”

Lusardi was discovered at a bus stop at the age of 18 and went on to be one of the UK’s best known glamour models.

She enjoyed a successful acting career and in 2008 appeared on Dancing On Ice.

She credits her youthful looks on her Italian father’s genes. Nello Lusardi died aged 87 in October last year.

Lusardi has been married to her second husband, the actor Sam Kane, 49, for nearly 20 years and the pair have two children.

Daughter Lucy, 21, is a singer who starred on TV talent show The Voice last year, while son Jack, 16, is an actor.