(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-16 20:23

LONDON - Women over 60 feel much healthier and happier living alone and revel in their lifestyle as so-called senior singletons, a study showed on Thursday.

A classic example was 79-year-old former Bond girl and "Avengers" TV star Honor Blackman who said: "What I've learnt from my two marriages and divorces is that I'm not much good at living with other people."

The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, looked at the growing social and health implications of people living alone -- Britain now has more people aged over 60 than it does children.

"In England, older women rated their health better if they lived alone," the study concluded.

The twilight years were being enjoyed with gusto by legions of latter-day Bridget Joneses.

Once alone, their relief was palpable, especially if they had spent years looking after ailing husbands.

"In England and Wales, older women living alone reported better self-rated health than married women of the same age," said Professor Emily Grundy of the Centre for Population Studies at the London School of Hygiene and Medicine.

"One reason might be that some of the married older women may have caring responsibilities for their spouses which might affect their self-rated health," Grundy said.

The older generation in Northern Europe were generally more content with their lot, the study also found.

"Older people in Scandinavia were happier than in other regions of Europe. In Scandinavia, there are generous welfare systems," said Grundy, whose centre conducted the research for the Economic and Social Research Council.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper picked Honor Blackman as a perfect case study to illustrate the report with the actress confessing that life with one love forever could be a trifle tedious.

"I suppose it must be possible to be faithful in a long-term relationship, I cannot imagine how you could do it though. And I'm not sure I'd want it actually. Wouldn't it be a bit dull?"