Lizzie Cundy was told to knock off "a couple of years" from her age or risk losing out on TV work.
Lizzie Cundy
The TV presenter is to appear in 'Our Shirley Valentine Summer' - which will see a host of stars head to a Greek island to rediscover themselves and look for love - later this month, but admitted she may not have had so many opportunities on the small screen if she hadn't lied about her age.
She said: "When I started presenting I was told by two well-known moguls to knock off a couple of years because it's a very young industry.
"I was told I wouldn't get any TV work if I didn't. So I stayed at being 37 for ages.
"All my old school mates laughed about it asking, 'What age are you today?'
"It was really tough as I'm a very honest person. So I actually celebrated my 50th when I arrived there."
Lizzie - who celebrated her 50th birthday alongside co-stars Sian Lloyd and Nancy Dell'Olio when she reached the Greek island - looks set to have a busy summer lined up, because she is to go under the knife to make her boobs look "more natural".
She added to The Sun's Bizarre TV column: "I'm going to have my boobs re-done, I want them to look more natural. I'm a 34D now.
"It worried me people thought I was quite hard and I'm not at all. The op is booked later this summer."
Lizzie will star alongside Melinda Messenger, Aggie MacKenzie, Ninia Benjamin, Annabel Giles and Ingrid Tarrant in 'Our Shirley Valentine Summer', which is based on the 1989 film 'Shirley Valentine', in which a trapped housewife from Liverpool travels to a Greek island, where she meets a tavern owner and begins to enjoy life again.
David Clews, creative director, said: "We can't wait to take our brilliant cast of 'Shirleys' over to Greece.
"Their summer in the sun will be a jam-packed experience - discovering new passions and rediscovering themselves as they get to grips with local life and the local dating scene.
"This is going to be a wonderfully warm, funny and heartfelt adventure. Hopefully with some romance too."
Tagged in Melinda Messenger