Ashley Roberts says she feels more connected to her body at 40 and ‘gives less f***s’
ASHLEY ROBERTS has opened up about turning 40 – saying she now “gives less f***s” and feels more connected to her body than ever.
The Pussycat Dolls singer — who shot to Noughties fame with the American girl group dubbed the hottest in the world — hit the milestone in September.
But she has vowed not to give up her sexy side as she gets older.
Ashley, now a host on E4 reality show The Real Dirty Dancing, said: “As you get older you start giving less f***s. You are more connected to yourself and wiser.
“I feel excited about the years to come because I feel better than how I felt in my twenties. Part of how I express my femininity is feeling sexy.
“It makes me sad to think about women not allowing themselves to feel that as we continue on.
“I’m like, ‘Let’s get our sassy, fierce, feminine sides out there’. Let’s embrace that part of ourselves. It doesn’t stop with age, right? I mean, we’ve all seen Jennifer Lopez at 52 . . . ”
The Pussycat Dolls reunited in 2019 with plans for a tour — since been cancelled in part due to the pandemic — and performed on The X Factor in an X-rated show that drew more than 400 complaints.
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But Ashley hit back at critics, saying they should ask themselves why they were so incensed.
She said: “When we performed on X Factor it was a different kind of fierceness than in our twenties.
“We were women showing up together and some people really got triggered by that. An interesting conversation would be to ask why.
“Why are you triggered by us? What is that bringing up within you? Maybe you should unleash your little tiger in there.
“Listen, it’s a balance. I don’t walk around every day with my lube and Latex outfits.
“But it is nice to allow that part of yourself to exist. Why not?”
The Pussycat Dolls — Nicole Scherzinger, Ashley, Kimberly Wyatt, Jessica Sutta, Carmit Bachar and Melody Thornton — won an army of fans with their catchy hits and sexy routines in the Noughties.
The group sold 54million records, making them one of the most successful girlbands of all time.
Jessica left in 2008 amid conflict in the group, and they disbanded in 2010, before reuniting in 2019.
Ashley has also found TV fame. She was in I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! in 2012 and the next year was a judge on Dancing On Ice.
She also landed a role on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, where she presented the Ant v Dec segment until 2016.
STRICTLY ROMANCE
She had another stint on the Dancing On Ice panel in 2014 and competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 — making it to the final with Russian pro partner Pasha Kovalev before losing out to Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton.
Ashley, who is single, reckons she has Strictly to thank for getting her dancing again like she did with the Pussycats.
She said: “After the Dolls broke up I wasn’t dancing. So Strictly kind of re-sparked that within my soul.
“When you’re dancing you’re connected to your body. In life it’s all in the head or the heart, but when you’re dancing they are connected as one.
“If you’ve got good chemistry with your partner, that shows. You’ve got that deeper connection to throw into the dance.
“When I grew up I was always dancing by myself. When I did Strictly, and all the ballroom holds and Latin stuff, you were up against another human.
“You have to listen to each other’s move-ment and body to be in sync. There’s a whole other sort of surrender to that style of dance. It’s got a sexual flair to it.”
That sexual flair will be on display in the first UK series of Aussie show The Real Dirty Dancing, which Ashley will co-present later this month with Bo’ Selecta! comedian Keith Lemon.
The contest will see ten celebrities pair up to perform iconic dance routines from the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.
Contestants include TV presenter Anthea Turner, former Blue singer Lee Ryan, influencer Saffron Barker and ex-Towie star James “Arg” Argent.
'CLOSE AND INTIMATE'
The couples will each compete to be declared the best Patrick and Jennifer.
And Ashley — who performed the film’s famous lift on Strictly — believes the spark between the celebrity couples is crucial.
She said of filming: “Chemistry was so important, especially in Dirty Dancing because the scenes are very close and intimate.
"You want to be able to feel you can relax and not be thinking about it too much.
“If you have that kind of trust, and that chemistry and connection, it makes the experience much more enjoyable.
“When I danced with Pasha on Strictly I didn’t know much about him, but everyone around him was so complimentary that I really felt I was in safe hands. The chemistry kind of built up, bit by bit.
“What was great about making The Real Dirty Dancing was that people were really giving it their all. They showed up and wanted to deliver.
“The show will be really fun to watch and it definitely captures the nostalgia for the film. I remember watching Dirty Dancing over and over when I was a kid.
"And when we were filming I walked on set and was like, ‘God, we’re in Dirty Dancing’.
“It felt like my little self’s dreams come true. When I was younger I was obsessed with the film. I loved it so much because of growing up dancing, the story — and Patrick Swayze.
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“Even watching it now, because I rewatched it before we shot the show, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so good’. I didn’t realise quite how fit Patrick was because I was so young, but now I think, ‘God, he was ripped’.
“The movie for me was about seeing that dancing. It was inspiring. I just loved dancing, so for me it was that grace — people acting and dancing. I was always drawn to that but Dirty Dancing was just special.”
