Queen Jackie

The earth moved when I met Jackie Collins, the original racy writer.

I was cuddling up to a really raunchy woman this week. You can tell the missus not to worry, though it was just my pal, Jackie Collins. She’s always been very sweet to me.

When I first arrived in La-La Land a few years ago, Jackie was one of the first people to extend a welcome. I was working for a TV station and received a lovely hand-written letter from her. My colleagues thought I knew her, but we’d never met she’d just decided to send a letter welcoming me to Hollywood.

It was a touch of class I’ll never forget.

Since then I’ve interviewed her loads of times and we always have a great chemistry. She asked me to host a question and answer session in front of a live audience at the exclusive Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.

Jackie, 75, was promoting her new book, The Power Trip.

Forget Fifty Shades Of Grey Queen Jackie is the original racy writer. She penned her first novel, The World Is Full Of Married Men, back in 1968.

We chatted about the first time we met. It was at her house in LA when suddenly the ground began to shake violently. We both ran to the nearest doorway which is what you’re supposed to do when you’re indoors during an earthquake, apparently and basically held each other until the shaking stopped. So I never miss an opportunity to tell an audience that the earth moved for Jackie and me on our first meeting!

You can’t interview Jackie without mentioning her famous sibling.

“It must be difficult living in their shadow,” I said to her. So tell me . . . how is Phil getting on with his drumming?

Jackie burst out laughing, but the audience were stony silent. I think I saw some tumbleweed drift past.

Jackie’s big sister is, of course, Joan Collins, and not Phil Collins from Genesis. The pair grew up in London and Jackie was the rebellious sister.

She was a tearaway who got expelled from school and threw her school uniform in the Thames.

Years later, Joan was being interviewed about her teenage years and Jackie realised her sister was pinching all her best stories. She confronted Joan about it who simply replied: “Darling, but your life was so much more interesting than mine!”

Jackie was paid a visit by George Michael recently. She was giving him directions on the best way to get there when she asked if he knew the park in Beverly Hills just off Sunset Boulevard. “I’m familiar with it, yes,” said a grumpy-sounding George.

It was a little while later that Jackie realised it was the same park in which George was arrested for indecent conduct in 1998.

An embarrassing moment, but at least it wasn’t as bad as my Phil Collins gag . . .