David Janson

Although it has taken me until the age of 69, I've finally found a man who makes me laugh, a man who takes me to wonderful restaurants and makes me feel like a lady, and a man who is fit, gorgeous and fantastic in bed. The most important thing is that these three men never meet. It's a twist on an old gag, but in my case it's entirely true. After two marriages and another long-term relationship, none of which provided lasting happiness, like many women my age I now reject the idea of focusing all my love and attention on one man. I won't swallow the lie that a partner to cook and care for is what every woman needs. In fact, there's a sign in my kitchen that says: 'The following four-letter words are banned in this house: cook, dust, wash, iron.' Instead of recoiling at the idea of living alone as I head into the next decade, I love it. Of course, I still adore men, but as friends with benefits rather than a husband. But please, do take your mind out of the gutter - of those three men I'm currently seeing, only one shares my bed.

Jane Gordon, 67, is a journalist and writer. Zorro and her cat, Catty, live in Oxfordshire. Naomi, 40, and Rufus, 30 - and grandmother to Edie, nine. Debbie Arnold, 67, has appeared in EastEnders, Coronation Street, and several other hit TV shows. She has two daughters from her second marriage, Ciara, 35, and Talia, 29. She has been married twice (to actors John Challis and David Janson). Archie, eight, Albie, four, and Ossian, six months old, she has three grandsons. Jilly Johnson, 69, is a retired model, actor, and writer with one daughter, Lucy, 47, and three grandchildren: Gracie, 19, Ted, 17, and Gabe, 16. Ashley, 77, chairman of a textile company, lives in Hertfordshire with her husband.