Joanna Lumley admits Leonardo DiCaprio kiss took staggering 27 takes

Dame Joanna Lumley has lifted the lid on what it was like to lock lips with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street - revealing it took a whopping 27 takes to get it right. The actress, who turns 79 on Thursday, May 1, opened up on the Dish podcast by Waitrose, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett, where she joked about the type of roles she's been getting now she's older. Lumley laughed that she's "always" being cast as a "cruel granny" or "a savage old aunt" or a "wicked old stepmother".

Hartnett wasn't having it, telling Lumley: "That's not true" before reminding her: "Hold on. In (The) Wolf of Wall Street, you got to kiss Leonardo (DiCaprio). You were a sexy aunt there." Grimshaw chimed in: "Friendly. Very friendly. Too friendly!" with Hartnett adding: "A bit too friendly for your niece's liking, exactly!" Laughing, the Absolutely Fabulous star replied: "No, that was pretty nice."

The comment left both Grimshaw and Hartnett cracking up. Things got even cheekier when Lumley was asked to spill the tea on who was the better kisser - Leonardo DiCaprio or Coronation Street legend Ken Barlow.

Pulling a thoughtful face, Lumley admitted she wasn't quite sure how to tackle the question, before finally revealing: "It was very sweet because I think Ken, if he ever kissed me, might've kissed me on the cheek, if he ever did. But Leo and I had to go to 27 takes."

The revelation had Grimshaw and Hartnett in fits of laughter, while Lumley giggled along.

Grimshaw joked that Lumley's attitude must have been: "No! You were like it's just not feeling right. We need to go again."

Switching into an American accent, Lumley teased: "I think I'm like Marty. I need to try that again."

In The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio, who is 28 years younger than Lumley, plays fast-talking stockbroker Jordan Belfort, while Lumley plays his glamorous Aunt Emma.

While Leo may have a reputation as Hollywood's biggest heartthrob, it seems the Oscar-winner's kissing skills needed a few practice rounds when it came to locking lips with Lumley.

Speaking on Alan Carr's Chatty Man show a few years back, the actress confessed: "Unfortunately, with the kissing he took a while getting used to it," adding that with some gentle coaxing and few takes later, the now 50-year-old actor finally nailed their onscreen smooch.

Still, Lumley had nothing but praise for DiCaprio's persistence, adding: "So I was like, 'Try, try again'. There were 27 takes!"

Back in 2014, Lumley told that she and DiCaprio kept mints handy while filming the scene as a "courtesy'".

"You both chew gum and eat peppermints as if you're disinfecting a hospital," she said.

"Actors are very sensitive about that because if you're singing or talking close to someone in front of the camera, or kissing, it is really quite intrusive.

"It's just a courtesy - teeth cleaned virtually to extinction."