Ab Fab star Helen Lederer reveals she was paid £70K for a day and a half's work!

Helen Lederer was once paid £70,000 for a day and a half's work.

The 69-year-old actress - who is best known for starring alongside Jennifer Saunders and Dame Joanna Lumley in 'Absolutely Fabulous' - was the face of Finish dishwasher tablets some years ago and claimed she was paid the five-figure some to simply say her lines and then insert the tablet into the machine.

She told The Telegraph: "By the 80s, I was working a lot on TV and then I landed two adverts: one for Advocaat, the other for Finish dishwasher tablets - and they paid ridiculously well. I was paid £70,000 for a day- and-a-half’s work and that was 20 years ago – one day to say the lines, half-a-day to show my hand inserting the tablet. "

The former 'Celebrity Big Brother' contestant immediately started to splash the cash on luxury items as she declared that she is a "spender" and thinks that if money is there, it should be used.

She said: "I went to Donna Karan – the proper posh shop, not DKNY – in Bond Street and bought a coat for £300. So yes, I’m a spender. I hate meanness. "My attitude is that, if the money’s there, spend it."

Helen recently joined 'Coronation Street' in the guest role of Elspeth - who meets Ken Barlow (William Roache) at a speed dating night - and recalled that she "dropped everything" to be able to appear the long-running ITV1 soap opera.

She said: "When you get the call for Coronation Street you drop everything. And to be offered a part playing a role opposite William Roache is even more exciting. Bill was such a charming, lovely man."