Paloma Faith thinks Dame Helen Mirren is ''the most sexy woman that's ever lived''.

The 39-year-old singer has heaped praise on the Hollywood icon for helping to end the scrutiny over the ''female ageing process'', and admitted that whilst she has had Botox before, she would never undergo surgery to keep herself looking youthful, because she wants to follow in Helen's footsteps and age gracefully.

She said: ''I wasn't doing [Botox] for years and then, before lockdown, I thought 'Oh, let's have a go and see what it's like'. But because I act as well, and my character's quite angry and expressive, I couldn't have that much because otherwise it's a bit weird.

''It's nice to know that it's there but I don't think I'd ever want to be frozen. I'm too anxious to have surgery. Also, it goes against how I think society judges and scrutinises women. The most sexy woman that's ever lived is Helen Mirren.

''Socially it's a bit weird to deny the female ageing process. Men don't have the same thing as much. Men, when they age, everyone's like, 'Ooh silver fox', but with women it's much harder.''

And the 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' singer says she will be teaching her daughter - whom she had with long-term boyfriend Leyman Lahcine in December 2016 - to love her body too.

Paloma also wants to make sure her daughter doesn't wait too long to start a family of her own, after the singer - who is now expecting her second child - endured six rounds of IVF before falling pregnant for the second time.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper, she said: ''If I were to give advice to my daughter, or other young women, I would say you would never, ever regret the children you have, you only regret the ones you choose not to.

''And that if you can start younger, you should. For me, the Holy Grail age for being a mother for the first time would be 28.

''But it was hard. I had quite a traumatic birth and maybe I wouldn't have if I'd have done it younger.

''Older parents - I mean, my head's obviously 12 - but physically, if you leave it a bit later then it's harder on the body.''