She has long counted Leslie Ash as a close confidante, so Toyah Willcox was well aware of the risks of cosmetic surgery.

But rather than being put off going under the knife by the sight of her friend's disastrous 'trout pout', she instead did her research and now advocates other women do the same.

'Getting a good surgeon took time because back then no one would talk openly about their surgery,' says the 50-year-old former punk singer who had a face-lift five years ago.

'I finally met a woman who showed me her surgery scars and recommended a French surgeon called Dr Oliver de Frahan who had worked on loads of stars.

'The reason I wrote my book, Diary Of A Facelift, is that no one would give me good advice and I didn't want other women to end up in the hands of a cowboy.'

Toyah, who braved the jungle in I'm A Celebrity... in 2003, is releasing a new album, The Court Of The Crimson Queen and also stars as Billie Piper's fresh-faced mother in Diary Of A Call Girl.

She says she is now much more content with her appearance

She adds: 'The great thing now is that you don't have to look old at 50, or even 60. Just look at Helen Mirren - she's 62, looks fantastic and shows that you can be sexy at any age.'

And while she also looks in amazing shape, she says there are limits to what she'll to in the name of vanity.

She told Reveal magazine: 'I'll never be Madonna. I'm not disciplined enough. I've tried being like her but I get too hungry.'

Toyah, who never wanted children, continues to live in England while her husband, musician Robert Fripp, 62, resides in the US.

She describes the relationship as 'unconventional', and reveals the pair spend around three months of the year together.

'But,' she insists, 'we've made it work.' 

Daily Mail
October 2008