MAURICE - O'TOOLE DEFENDS OLD AGE LUST

Veteran actor PETER O'TOOLE has leaped to the defence of pensioners who lust for younger partners, maintaining age should be no barrier to love. The 74-year-old plays ageing thespian MAURICE in his latest movie VENUS, who falls for a brash teenager 50 years his junior. The sympathetic look at an unconventional romance has concerned many critics, but O'Toole is adamant there's nothing unnatural or shameful about his screen passions. He jokes, "In New York a woman on a chat show asked if I could imagine myself with a 20-year-old girl. I said, I hope I could do more than imagine." Speaking at last night's London premiere of the film, O'Toole added, "I think too much is made of age gaps in couples. It's sad and ridiculous. Let people get on with it."