It is hard to think of a time when the over-80s have held such sway over British public life. Shirley Williams has the government at her mercy as she decides what to do about its NHS reform bill. If many are unaware that P.D. James is woman, then even fewer will know (or care) how old she is. This is a list of people who are still filling theatres, selling books and inspiring millions in their ninth (and, in some cases, tenth) decade. Their artistic, political or scientific brilliance has only been cast into sharper relief by the passage of time. This far-from-comprehensive list of Britain’s great octogenarians (with a sprinkling of nonagenarians) has one particularly notable exception: the Queen. The success of her reign requires no elaboration.octogenarian
Writers and journalists
P.D. James by Ian Rankin
Baroness James of Holland Park (Phyllis to her friends) turned 90 last year. At the age of 89, she was a guest editor on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and memorably led that organisation’s director general, Mark Thompson, through a forensic and comprehensive interrogation.
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