How hit BBC drama Bodyguard is inspiring a sex boom in women over 40 — who are enjoying the best sex off us all
WHOEVER coined the term “Naughty Forties” really hit the, ahem, spot – with women in this age group enjoying the best sex of all.
Two of this year’s hottest TV dramas, Bodyguard and Wanderlust, concern the raunchy antics of fortysomething women.
And the hit BBC shows, starring Keeley Hawes, 42, and Toni Collette, 45, are proving a real-life inspiration, too The Sun on Sunday studied separate surveys on the online dating habits of 7,000 men and women which explode the myth that middle-aged means being past your prime.
We found that women in their forties are the ones flocking to dating sites in search of virile young lovers or ways to spice things up in the bedroom.
And, it seems, many have sex on the brain, too.
A huge 42 per cent of women in their forties said they “felt horny” several times a day.
Yet only a third of millennials aged 18 to 29 said the same, as did 30 per cent of women in their thirties.
The study by dating website Victoria Milan, which quizzed 2,000 women about their love lives, also discovered that where you live plays a part, too.
Women aged between 40 and 60 and living in London had sex on their minds the most.
Nearly a fifth (18 per cent) said they thought about it several times a day.
But then the capital is home to sexy celebs including supermodel Kate Moss, 44, actress Sadie Frost, 53, and author Erika Mitchell, 55, (aka EL James) who wrote the Fifty Shades Of Grey trilogy.
That compares to five per cent of cougars in 42-year-old Corrie star Kym Marsh’s hometown of Manchester and just three per cent of women in Birmingham, where Big Brother presenter Emma Willis, 42, was born.
Geordie lasses were at the bottom of the table with just one per cent polled saying they had racy thoughts several times a day.
Sigurd Vedal from Victoria Milan said: “People tend to think middle-aged and older women come to a point in which they just stop wanting sex.
“That’s an old-fashioned thought and these results show how wrong the majority are about older women.
“Women from 40 to 60 plus are nowadays living their lives as they want to — having affairs, feeling sexy and they are more willing to take their sexual life to the next step.
“On the other hand, it’s understandable that women between 30 and 39 put sex in second place in their lives.
“They may be taking care of their kids and working at the same time, so perhaps sex, and even more specifically affairs, aren’t among their first choices in their life.”
The findings mirror the Wanderlust plot where Toni Collette’s character Joy tells her husband Alan, played by Steven Mackintosh, 51, she still loves him but is bored in the bedroom.
In search of sexual adventure, and with her hubby’s knowledge and consent, she takes a series of lovers and steamy scenes show her in the throes of passion.
Meanwhile in Bodyguard, randy Home Secretary Julia Montague, played by Keeley Hawes, could not keep her hands off her Police Protection Officer David Budd.
Julia and Budd, played by Richard Madden, 32, got to know one another very intimately, before the politician’s untimely demise in a recent episode.
A second poll of 5,000 men and women by adult dating site Saucy Dates also found that women in their forties were having more fun in the bedroom.
Although this age group were more faithful — only a third would think of cheating — they were also more likely to bring another lover into the bedroom with their partner’s consent.
Asked if they would like to take part in group sex, women were far more likely to say yes. One in seven women in their forties said they fantasised about it compared to one in nine men.
When the survey came to sex toys, 38 per cent of 18-year-old women said they used them but this dropped to 28 per cent by the age of 32.
But women in their forties returned to using saucy props, with the number experimenting with vibrators, handcuffs and other items rising back to 38 per cent.
They might be taking tips from model Katie Price, 40, who was seen browsing lingerie and sex aids last month with toyboy ex Kris Boyson, 29.
The website’s David Minns said: “We’ve seen a huge spike in women in their forties using the site since Bodyguard and Wanderlust were screened.
“Seeing women like Keeley and Toni enjoying sex in their forties makes women realise it’s OK to have a high sex drive and want your needs fulfilled.
“If they are in a healthy relationship this is great — watching shows like this works wonders for sex lives.
“If needs aren’t met at home, then it’s inevitable that people will browse online.”
DRAMA GETS IT RIGHT
By Andy McNab
Steamy though it may be, Bodyguard isn’t about sex.
The clue is in the name and here Andy McNab spells out the truth about troubled Army veterans and protection work . . .
Bodyguard gets a lot of things right.
David Budd looks and sounds like the real deal and the way they portray someone going through the agony of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is terrifyingly accurate.
I have known former soldiers who’ve had it and it’s horrendous for both them and their families.
These are tough men who have fought for their countries, but the stigma of getting treatment means they don’t want to get help.
One guy suffered for years with PTSD and he only did something about it when his wife threatened to leave him.
Another, Sergeant Nish Bruce, fought in the Falklands, worked as a bodyguard then killed himself by jumping out of an aeroplane.
The fictional Budd, who attempted to kill himself, is an Afghan-veteran who has joined the Met’s Royal and Specialist Protection Command as a Principal Protection Officer (PPO).
This is a very common leap to make in real life. One friend, who I cannot name, had done Iraq and Afghanistan.
He joined the police and ended up working as a PPO for a former PM.
He enjoyed the job because it was similar to the Army and he felt he belonged to something.
He was carrying a gun and protecting somebody.
There’s a scene in the show where a minister calls Budd a “monkey” and that just wouldn’t happen.
He’d tell the man to wind his neck in – he is responsible for keeping her alive.
Budd also sleeps with Home Secretary Julia Montague and that has been known to happen.
Bodyguards work closely with their subjects and it’s easy for an attraction to develop.
But I don’t ever think a man with PTSD would end up working for the Home Secretary.
You have to go through months of rigorous testing to get that role.
The other thing they don’t capture is just how boring being a bodyguard can be.
If you are good at your job, nothing will happen.
Bodyguard is great entertainment but it is just an illusion, as showing the reality would be far too boring.
Roughly eight per cent of the military population will have PTSD.
If Bodyguard encourages more veterans to get help it will be a good thing.