Begin Again with Davina McCall - Begin Again Moments: Ageing Disgracefully | Trinny Woodall & Prue Leith

Episode Date: August 11, 2026

In this joyful episode of Begin Again Moments, Trinny Woodall and Prue Leith challenge everything we're told about getting older. In two inspiring conversations, they share why ageing shouldn't mean becoming quieter, safer or less ambitious and why they both intend to grow old disgracefully. From embracing confidence and taking risks to continuing to work, create and have fun, they prove that getting older can be about gaining freedom rather than losing it. A celebration of ageing boldly, living fully and refusing to let a number define what comes next. To hear the full conversations, watch the complete episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Ancient + Brave - https://ancientandbrave.earth/pages/planet and use code BEGINAGAIN for 20% off your order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Healthy looking skin is anti-aging in the... Don't say the word anti-aging. Oh, go on. Tell me what do I say. I wouldn't say pro-aging either. I would just say... I think... Youthifying.

It's the perception. Oh, yes, that we should want to look younger. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, because I think... I have these people on social who might say, why can't you age gracefully? Because I put a lot of effort into being well. You and I, fitness, supplements, skin, everything.

all right. So I think it's about, I think it's actually more to do with menopause because I feel that we have been many years where, you know, we didn't talk about menopause, then we talked about menopause. I went into menopause 17 years ago, so I've been researching it for a long time, but I do believe in it that our bodies traditionally would be a certain age at 14 year fertile, have babies, then hit menopause and then slowly die. All of those hormones are coming out of your system, and you will age, you will accelerate your aging. Men are slightly different, but, you know, they have andropause. But the idea for me is, should I go against that natural biological determination?

Fuck yes. And should I have all the estrogen testosterone, progesterone until I'm in my carbon? Absolutely. There's receptors all over my body, so I should. It's not just in my ovaries. and will it make me have more energy and life and vibrancy? Yes. And therefore, do I want my skin to look good?

And do I want to feel that total physical, attitudinal and ascetic energy? So that's why for me all of these things are important, you know. And I think that's the important thing that you've just said. That's why all of these things for me are important. But if the lady who's writing in going, why don't you girl gracefully, if that's what you want to do, then you do it and we will stand here going, well done. But you see, I don't believe that.

Oh, you don't. I mean, the thing is like, Mel Robbins is like, let them. Yeah. Oh my God. I don't agree with that. I don't agree with that. Oh, my God. So I'll tell you what I feel about this, just for a second for a perspective.

So I did actually go and listen to Mel Robbins and I even read her book and stuff. but and I think she has a podcast with some really good guests on it. She is an amazing person. She's a good woman who wants to do good in the world. But this concept, let them, is an interesting one because it's sort of we can drive ourselves to torturous illness by trying to control situations. And therefore let them is to release in yourself that sense and that need to control. Yes.

Okay. So I 100%. get that. Yeah. And it's like with our children, everything, we can come and just let go. But I think when I see women who comment negatively, it reminds me of when Susanna and I do what not to wear and we were in situations where sometimes we had a whole load of people to choose from, I always know, because I have a little, I am slightly psychic, of knowing who

was the most challenging person in the room for me to makeover who needed to. the most. I always knew who that person was. And when I read my DMs and sometimes I go from primary to general to the weird requests where I'll always look there because there's somebody who always wants to get in touch and I feel sometimes when I scroll through and I'll open the 50th and there's thousands that will come in. There's a reason that my finger would click on that. So if I then see a woman saying, oh, why can't you old age gracefully? I actually write back and I say, I want you to ask yourself what triggered in you when you saw that. And ask yourself what makes you feel uncomfortable about what you see and why.

Because you need to ask yourself that. And that's the messages I leave. And I'd never do it on the public Instagram because I think that's insulting. But I will do it on a DM. because I do feel or like even at the weekend somebody did a one that I screen grabbed actually but I was wearing a plastic belt and I loved it. It brought me such joy and it was so obvious when I was putting it on this weird big peplum belt that I loved.

I'd seen on something that's mad but that would challenge me. Challenge how I dress. You know, I love to continue to be challenged. And this woman said, I mean that was just clickbait and you have responsibility to women and it was a disservice to women of what you did. I mean, it was so aggressive. And I wrote back and I said, I dress to bring myself joy.

Yeah. So what did you find difficult? You know, what you found out of it. And I took her name away, put a little cloud there. And I posted it on my stories. Because I wanted her to see it. I didn't want to reveal who she was,

but I wanted her to see it. And I've never done that before. And I don't know if I would do it again because I think it's something that should be private. Somebody's DM'd you privately, but they wrote those words for a reason. And sometimes it's much easier for us to leave well alone the people who we feel are tormented in life.

But I have a fucking beacon towards them. And it's for a reason. And I will know that in some instances, I might shift somebody's perceptions themselves or make them look at something that they found challenging to look at. and that's a part of the reason I'm here. Every single woman that I talk to,

I was going, I'm interviewing for Relief, they'd all be like, oh my God, she makes like, and I hope you don't mind me using the freight, like getting older, okay. Like you are flying the flag. I look at you and I go, oh, it's going to be okay. Absolutely. Like you are so happy. Yes.

Now, I want to just read the dedication. We've got a lot of grandchildren between us, John and Reel. So it's for our grandchildren, Hugo, Harry, Malachi, Scarlett, Gabriel, Grace, Roman, Max, Alexander, Teddy and Bertie. Yep. And the most important is, who need to know that getting old is not as gross as they think? You know, children think that old people are so gross. Yes, but you are giving not just children, but everybody.

hope for the future. And this is, I mean, I may as well just reference this now because this is what this book actually is all about. It's like, how do you do it? Being old and learning to love it. I didn't write it as a manual. I didn't write it, I didn't set out to say, you know, this is the best way to get old or the only way to get old or something.

But I just wrote about various aspects of age. There are lots of rants in it, but my main thing is the joys of old age and the hilarity. You know, things like, you know, I suppose it's a bit, a lot of people will think that I shouldn't laugh at people who are senile. But my mum was senile for 20 years. And to be honest, senility is fine for the person who's crackers. They're away with the fairies. They're as happy as Larry. It's the carers who have the whole time.

And I mean, we had hilarious moments with my mother. For example, she was vegetarian. She'd been vegetarian all her life, a long time since I was a child. And when she turned 80, my brothers and I took her out to lunch, to a restaurant we'd often been to, because it had a separate vegetarian menu, but I also had steak and stuff because my brother's great carnivals. So I asked for the vegetarian menu, and I gave it to. to my mum and she looked at and she said, this is all vegetarian. So I said, yeah, mum, you're vegetarian.

She said, oh, greenie, sandal, a lot. I have nothing to do with them. Terrible people, I don't want. She'd forgotten she was vegetarian. Completely forgotten. She was vegetarian. Just overnight she'd forgotten. She'd be eating veg the day before.

And so I said, you have been a vegetarian for 40 years. She said, absolute nonsense. Give me a steak. So she had a steak. Enjoyed it. Wow. It's not so funny. It's hilarious.