‘She has barely aged!’ say fans as legendary sixties Disney movie star turns 78 and celebrates with This Morning pal

FILM fans were in awe today as an age-defying legendary actress celebrated her 78th birthday.

Oscar-winner Hayley Mills was joined by former MP and This Morning favourite Gyles Brandreth, 76, on her special day.

The radiant pair beamed for a smiley photo that was shared to X, formerly Twitter.

Gyles wrote: “Happy birthday to my brilliant and beautiful friend: Oscar-winning actress Hayley Mills. (Btw, her autobiography is gripping – highly recommended).”

Fans rushed to send Hayley their well-wishes, with one writing: “WOW! Hayley’s looking fantastic! A very very Happy Birthday to you!”

Another tongue-in-cheek post read: “How on Earth are you both looking so gorgeous and youthful – do you feed on the blood of the young?! Wonderful photo – happy birthday Hayley Mills.”

A third said: “She is so beautiful…… always was…”

Hayley’s screen career spans 65 years. She became a global star in her early teens thanks to her Oscar-winning turn in Pollyanna, for which she also won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Bafta.

Disney flick Pollyanna tells the story of an orphan who is sent to live with her wealthy aunt in a rural town and learns plenty of life lessons along the way. She also suffers a life-changing injury that threatens her jovial spirit.

The following year, in 1962, Hayley was nominated for major honours again at the Baftas and Golden Globes, respectively, for her roles in Whistle Down the Wind and The Parent Trap.

A third Golden Globe nod followed in 1964 for her performance in Summer Magic.

She’s had countless TV, film and theatre roles since including a number of popular dramas in recent years such as ITV‘s Unforgotten, Wild At Heart and most recently a cameo in Death in Paradise.

Hayley overcame breast cancer 12 years ago, after a four year battle with the disease.

She underwent surgery in 2008 and began chemotherapy but stopped after three sessions due to the side effects.

She previously said: “It made me feel awful. I was more frightened of the chemo than the cancer.

“I could feel it draining and killing me. I felt I was dying.”

Instead she sought out alternative methods and made a drastic change to her diet, cutting out sugar, dairy and acidic foods.

She also did lots of exercise and meditation.

“It’s a big decision,” she said. “Most other routes are not endorsed. They offer surgery, chemo and radiotherapy – and that’s it.

“When you step off that, you’re on your own because all those other things, they’d just say were a waste of time. So, you have to decide what route you’re going to take and be prepared to find something you can believe in 100 per cent.”

In her latest TV role in Death in Paradise Hayley was brutally killed off with a knitting needle just minutes into her appearance. 

The Academy Award-winning actress played Nancy Martin, a nursing home resident who was enjoying a visit from her cousin Eloise (played Juliet Cowan), who was from the U.K.

The episode began with Nancy enjoying a game of bingo at the nursing home, but she quickly clashed with her rival, Barbara (Ellie Haddington). After losing, Nancy stormed off, leaving Eloise and Barbara inside to finish playing. 

However, the camera then cut to Nancy alone on a bench where it became clear she was dead, having been stabbed with her own needle. 

Soon, Ralf Little’s DI Neville Parker and the Saint Marie police force were called in to solve the case, making for an exciting episode. 

While a murder at the beginning of the series is necessary to give Neville something to investigate, fans weren’t impressed with how little screentime Hayley was afforded.

Taking to X to voice their disappointment, one fan said: “Death in Paradise, nooo. Why get an iconic actress like Hayley Mills to guest star then bump her character off after 2 mins?”

“Hayley Mills getting a trip to the Caribbean for three minutes of acting. Good move!” another criticised.

“I know they have not just killed Hayley Mills off in the first 5mins?” a third wary viewer asked. 

While a fourth said: “We’re getting flashbacks, right? Because having a British acting legend in the show just to kill her in the first 5 minutes is quite harsh otherwise…”

Thankfully, fans were treated to flashbacks and Hayley returned periodically throughout the episode, but it was clear viewers would have liked to have seen more of her. 

Having Hayley Mills on the series was a dream come true for Ralf Little

Ralf Little, who plays Never Parker, was thrilled to have The Parent Trap actress guest-star on Death in Paradise.  

During an appearance on The One Show ahead of the new season, Ralf admitted he was left “star-struck” by Hayley.

Gushing about the actress, he said: “Hayley Mills is in episode two and Hayley Mills is just, sort of, an idol of mine, an absolutely legitimate living legend.

He continued: “An Oscar winner, she was in Whistle Down the Wind when she was a kid, which is one of the most… it’s set exactly where I’m from in the Lancashire hills. I used to watch it with my grandparents. It’s a beautiful film.

And she just came on set just this extraordinary legend, fabulous actor, and was just the most professional, nicest, easy-going person. It was what you aspire to. 

“She was probably one of the few people I’ve ever been star-struck by, and I got to do scenes with her,” Ralf admitted.