Recalling the time she was forced to flee her London flat, the 'Dynasty' actress went on to praise husband Percy Gibson for his effort in fighting the flames before the emergency services arrived.

• Apr 22, 2019

AceShowbiz - Dame Joan Collins feels "lucky to be alive" after escaping a fire at her London home.

The "Dynasty" actress and her husband Percy Gibson were forced to flee their flat in Belgravia after a blaze broke out inside a guest en-suite bathroom on April 13.

In a new interview with Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, the 85-year-old admitted she feels lucky that they had been woken up by an alarm. She's also relieved they were home at the time so Percy could tackle the flames before the emergency services arrived.

"The thing is, if Percy hadn't gone in with the extinguisher the entire flat would have been consumed by flames," she said. "What he did, in fact, was save the whole building. Percy's a hero. I know a lot of guys who wouldn't have gone in. He made a great sacrifice.

"And we're lucky to be alive. I keep thinking: 'What if we'd been asleep and hadn't heard the alarm? What if we'd gone to a movie?'."

She recalled how she stood outside in her pyjamas, bathrobe and only socks and called the fire brigade as Percy doused the fire.

The interview was conducted at the flat three days after the blaze. According to the report, the guest bathroom, where the fire started and ended, is "devastated, charred and black" and a window is broken, while the adjacent bedroom has been blackened by smoke.

Firefighters have said the blaze started by sunlight hitting a mirror and reflecting onto a blind.