Botox keeps me beautiful, says Lesley Garrett

Lesley Garrett has always credited her exercise regime and balanced diet with keeping her trim and youthful.

But it seems the 51-year-old opera star has also had a helping hand from doctors in maintaining her looks.

Yesterday she admitted having Botox injected into her forehead to smooth out her brow and regular chemical peels to give her youngerlooking, wrinkle-free skin.

Yorkshire-born Miss Garrett said she had her face 'sandblasted' with treatments in an attempt to reverse the effect of ageing. And she said she would not rule out having a major nip and tuck operation.

'I do have peels,' she said. 'I have Botox too - just a little bit - but that's not really news. Everyone in the world has Botox; my cat has Botox. I am a big believer in dermabrasion, which is like deep exfoliation. They sandblast your face.'

The chemical peels, which Miss Garrett has administered by a Harley Street doctor every six months, involve using acids to blister off the top layer of skin, leaving raw, regenerated skin which is usually smoother and less wrinkly.

Dermabrasion removes sundamaged skin and blemishes and is a painful procedure usually requiring a general anaesthetic. It is carried out with either a laser or electric tool which literally sands down the skin on the face and leaves it red-raw.

Miss Garrett, who was nicknamed 'the singing bosom' because of her racy stage costumes, added: 'I really look after my skin but I might go under the knife in my 60s. There's plenty you can do to avoid that though. For now I eat well, avoid the sun and do not worry too much about it. I think passion and enthusiasm is age-defying.'

Last year the soprano, who lives in North London, said: 'Being in my 50s is fantastic. I am so much more confident, happy and secure than I was in my 20s. I look better - I am fitter, slimmer and have more style because I know exactly what suits me.'

She added her two children with her doctor husband Peter helped her 'revisit my youth'.