Dame Joan Collins was kicked out of an IKEA store because she wasn't wearing a proper face mask.

The 87-year-old actress was holidaying in St Tropez, France, when she was ''pounced'' upon in the homeware store because she was wearing a clear, plastic visor - rather than a conventional mask.

She told the Spectator magazine: ''On a shopping trip to IKEA I wore a new plastic face visor, which I had seen being worn by London hairdressers. As it's less stifling than a 'muzzle' mask, I could breathe more easily.

''However, an officious gendarme became deeply offended by it, and while I was mulling over the benefits of IKEA's gravadlax vs its smoked salmon, he pounced. Gesticulating in Gallic fashion, he yelled at me to put on a proper mask, because visors aren't legal.

''Chastised, I slunk away, muttering an Anglo-Saxon expletive under my breath, which, as he glared at me, I feared he might have understood.

''I then tried wearing a clear plastic face mask, of the sort which all the staff at the Byblos were wearing, but although it was easier to speak and to be understood, it forced my face into a hideous rictus.''

By contrast, Joan previously admitted to being in a better position than a lot of people amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Speaking about her lockdown experience earlier this year, she explained: ''I'm dealing with the situation, but for many people, particularly those in small flats with children or in abusive relationships, it must be utterly terrifying.

''I'm really fortunate to have a good solid relationship and great friends and family.''

Despite this, Joan refused to watch the news because she found it ''too depressing''.

She said: ''Hand in hand with physical health comes mental well-being. I'll usually have the TV on but not the news. It's too depressing.''