Dame Joan Collins has revealed that her first husband drugged and then raped her when they went out on their first date.
Film star Maxwell Reed – who she married out of ‘shame’ following that night – also tried to pimp her out to ‘old rich men’ for £10,000 a night.
The showbusiness legend makes this awful revelation in documentary This Is Joan Collins, which airs on BBC2 tonight.
Joan met Reed as a teenager, shortly after starring in film I Believe in You.
In the programme, Joan recalls their first meeting, explaining: “The gigantic powder blue Buick drew up outside Bayswater Tube station.
“He had an American accent which was quite odd for a man from South London.
“He was 31, and I was 17 and a virgin – I knew that would cause trouble at home.”
The attack took place at Reed’s home after he served her a rum and coke.
Joan woke up on his living room floor to find him having sex with her.
She had been drugged with what was then known as a Mickey Finn.
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After marrying Reed, Joan endured a hellish four years of abuse before the last terrible straw that saw her return to her mother.
In the documentary, Joan recalls a night when he tried to pimp her out to an Arab Sheikh.
“He gravitated towards rich old men and that night I found out why.
“Max told me, ‘He’ll pay you £10,000 for one night – and I can even watch’. I looked at my handsome, loathsome husband and began to cry. ‘Never in a million years.'”
Joan, now 88, goes on to detail all five of her marriages and her family, as well as the uglier side of her Hollywood career.
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“I know I’ve had a lucky life but I’ve also had my fair share of disaster and unhappiness,” she admits.
“There have been miserable, horrible divorces, the terrible situation when my daughter almost died, bankruptcy, almost, not getting any work as an actor. A lot.
“But who wants reality? There’s already too much of it in today’s world, that’s not what the public pay for.”
Watch the unmissable This Is Joan Collins on BBC2 at 9pm, New Year’s Day – it will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
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