Patricia Hodgson and Dennis Waterman in The Life and Loves of a She-Devil

But she insisted that her next words, that death was the worst thing, were not quoted in the article.

A pioneer of Women's Lib in the 1960s, she has outraged modern feminists by advocating "masculinism" - her term for the compassion that she feels should be shown to men who lose out in the modern sexual order.

Ms Weldon was born in England but grew up in New Zealand, returning to London in 1946.

She did a degree in economics and psychology at St Andrew's University, then spent 10 years working in various places including the Foreign Office and a cake shop.

She is often credited with creating the slogan "Go to work on an egg" while working in advertising in the 1960s.

But she has said that as head of copywriting she just spotted the phrase and put it on a poster.

She is patron of Eric, an organisation helping children with enuresis (bedwetting).

Three times married, she has four sons and three stepsons.