Dame Joan Collins utterly unrecognisable in new Wallis Simpson biopic

has stunned fans with her drastic change of appearance in the first official image from her latest film, The Bitter End. The 91-year-old screen icon took to Instagram to share a still from the upcoming biopic, in which she is playing the controversial . In the photo Collins can be seen tending to yellow roses in the garden of Villa Windsor, wearing a bold 70s style coat with fur trim, round sunglasses, and what appears to be a wig with her hair styled into two thick braids coiled on top of her head.

The actress wrote: "In production for The Bitter End. I'm delighted to post the official 'first look' photograph of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, and her scheming lawyer, Maitre Suzanne Blum in the garden of her villa in Paris. Under Mike Newell's legendary direction, this is a truly exciting production."

The dramatic makeover marks a striking departure from the glamorous role Dame Joan is best known for as Alexis Colby in . Fans were quick to respond to her new look, with one gushing: "All your fans are eagerly awaiting this film's release, it will be a triumph!!!"

Another wrote: "Fabulous! You are totally channeling Wallis. And Isabella Rossellini as Blum? Cannot wait!" A third added: "I'm very curious about this movie, considering the history of Wallis Simpson. After watching a few documentaries I quite felt for her - not sure she really wanted to marry the king in the end and it felt like she found herself trapped in the whole situation. He sounded really immature and highly dependent on her. The royal family didn't give her justice I think."

Dame Joan continues to defy aging, which she insists she has done with a strict beauty regime instead of surgery.

A few years ago she told : "I don't go to bed without taking off my makeup and putting on night cream. My mother had me and [my sister] Jackie doing that when we were 14."

Her go-to skincare includes a £5.50 Nivea cleanser and a £35 Charlotte Tilbury Magic Night Cream, which she swears by. For red carpet events and long-haul flights, she places chilled cotton pads on her eyes to reduce puffiness. The star also keeps up with regular Zoom sessions with her personal trainer.

"There's far too much fuss about ageing," she told . "You see people in their 90s and 100s doing amazing things... there's no reason to fall apart."

The Bitter End marks another exciting chapter in Collins' career. It is being directed by Four Weddings and a Funeral filmmaker Mike Newell and was written by Louise Fennell, the mother of Saltburn's Emerald Fennell.

The film plans to explore the final chapter of Wallis Simpson's life following the death of her husband, King Edward VIII. Simpson is shown living in isolation in her Paris villa, where she starts to become increasingly controlled by her lawyer Suzanne Blum, played by Isabella Rossellini. In real life Blum was a powerhouse who eventually took over every aspect of Simpson's life as her physical and mental health declined.