Dame Emma Thompson, 66, declares sex should be recommended by the NHS as she reveals her friends have started to hire escorts
The Oscar-winning actress, 66, made the comments during a live Q&A at a screening of her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande at The Kiln Theatre in North West London, where she opened up about the surprising response to her role as a widowed, retired teacher who hires a male escort to help her explore her sexuality.
'We need to learn about our own response to: what if when you're unwell, you can't make connections, but you need sex?' Emma said.
'You need sex because it's part of our health plan, if you like. It should really be on the NHS. It should. It's so good for you.'
The Love Actually star, who performed nude scenes with actor Daryl McCormack, 32, in Leo Grande, spoke candidly about how the 2022 film had impacted women of her generation - and even inspired them to take matters into their own hands.
'Since the film came out, quite a number of older friends of mine have done that - they've hired escorts,' she revealed.
The actress, 66, made the comments during a live Q&A at a screening of her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande where she opened up about the surprising response to her role as a widowed, retired teacher who hires a male escort (pictured in the film with Daryl McCormack)
Emma, who has campaigned against human trafficking in partnership with UN initiatives, also spoke in support of de-stigmatising sex work, arguing that it should be recognised as a legitimate profession, rather than a taboo subject.
'Daryl spoke to a lot of sex workers,' she explained. 'And the thing he learned most was they were just like accountants. Sex workers are doing a job.
'He made this discovery also about the way in which it's viewed. Katy [Brand, the film's writer] had come from a country in which it is legal; I come from a background where I've worked with a lot of people who have been trafficked, so I have very complicated views about sex work.
'I understand that there are lots of different angles that you can come at it. For instance, in Sweden now, men who buy sex are criminalised. Sex workers aren't criminalised, the buyer is.
'People have views about that. We used to have a trafficking unit in this country - we don't have it anymore, it was absorbed into the vice squad [police units dealing with sex work, trafficking and drugs].
'Sex work and trafficking are two very different things but they're often conflated and it's not understood partly because it's not documented. So no one knows about men who buy sex because it's hidden.'
In the UK, prostitution itself is legal, meaning that buying and selling sexual services is permitted between consenting adults. However, many related activities are illegal, such as soliciting in public places, running a brothel, or pimping.
'Sex workers are a little more vocal now and very strong on what they think needs to happen and they're the people we need to listen to,' Emma added.
The actress also said she hoped Leo Grande could be a 'springboard' for wider discussions about the role of sex in emotional and physical health.
'It's very good to be able to give yourself an orgasm when you need one. And for women, it is notoriously difficult. In fact, the stats are quite alarming. It really is much harder than you think,' she said.
'One of the things that really surprised me when the film came out was the number of young women who told me they'd never had an orgasm.'
She took aim at the way society pressures women to perform sexually - and sees pleasure as something to be 'achieved'.
'This whole thing of performing and saying it has to be this, and Cosmopolitan saying: "how to have the greatest orgasm" - endlessly getting at us about this goddamn thing that we're supposed to achieve. You even use the phrase "achieve orgasm".
'Why do we do that? That's such a stupid verb. An orgasm is not an achievement. It's a beautiful, healthy expansion of your body in a moment of time.'
Quoting a line from the film, she added: 'As Leo says, it's not a Faberge Egg - but it is as beautiful and delicate as that.'
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