Joan Collins on why she turned down a date with Frank Sinatra

What did you miss?

At 91, Dame Joan Collins has plenty of stories to tell. But one story that stood out among the rest during her appearance on The One Show was her purported date with Frank Sinatra — or, as she puts it, “the date that never happened.”

The award-winning actress, who became a household name after starring in the soap opera Dynasty, was on The One Show to discuss her involvement in the new BBC Two show Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar.

But hosts Roman Kemp and Alex Jones couldn’t resist the temptation to ask Collins about the one that got away.

What, how, and why?

“Well, I'm doing a movie in London, and I'm living at home, and my mother comes in in the morning very excited, holding the phone,” Collins began. She then described how, on the other line, was none other than Old Blue Eyes himself.

“Hi, Collins?” she recalls him asking. “Sinatra here.” He then proceeded to ask her out to dinner, which Collins says she initially agreed to. “That would be nice,” she recalls answering. But when Sinatra suggested the following night, the committed actress had to turn him down — after all, she had an early call tomorrow.

To which Sinatra replied: “Well, I’ll change your call kid.”

“I said, ‘Oh, you can't do that,’” Collins added. “I’m a very serious actress. You can't change my call." Sinatra purportedly responded by saying, “I’ll send my plane,” before revealing that the plane was in Hamburg. “And I said, ‘I'm sorry I can't,’ Collins added, “And, he hung up.”

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But despite the abrupt ending to the call, that wasn’t the last time Collins spoke to Sinatra. She went on to describe how she “met him a few times” after the awkward date mishap, such as on the set of 1962 movie The Road To Hong Kong, in which they both featured.

What else did Joan Collins say?

Along with discussing other pop culture icons like Elizabeth Taylor, Jones turned the conversation to an earlier interview Collins had, in which she seemed to confirm that she’s a Swiftie!

Recounting the interview, during which she was asked about modern pop culture icons, Collins said she answered with Taylor Swift because she sets “a great example to young people.”

“I like the way she dresses, I like her attitude towards life, and I suppose she's an icon,” Collins added. But I've never seen her."

But if you think you’re going to catch Collins at the Eras tour, you’re sorely mistaken. When Jones suggested seeing the pop idol live, she responded by asking incredulously: “Do you think I'm gonna go to one of those arenas?!”

Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar airs on BBC Two on 27 September.