I'M A Celebrity star, Stefanie Powers, is of course most recognisable for her role as Jennifer Hart in the popular 1980s American TV series, Hart to Hart. She has had a long and varied career and now takes to the stage at the Wycombe Swan in On Golden Pond. She talks to Rebecca Cain about the Fonda's and her pioneering role in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E but remains tight-lipped about the jungle.

Powers' next challenge is to play Ethel Thayer in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond. The play, which is directed by Michael Lunney, follows the endearing love story between Ethel and her husband, Norman, played by RSC and National Theatre's leading actor, Richard Johnson, who are returning to their summer home for the 48th year.

She said it is a treat to be working with Johnson again. She said: "Some years ago he was the guest star in an episode of Hart to Hart. We have kinda known each other a little bit throughout the years.

"We have an awful lot in common. We appeared in a film in Germany but not together. This is really a treat."

It is the first time Powers has met Elizabeth Carling, who is well known for her regular roles in Boon, Goodnight Sweetheart and Casualty and who will be playing the couple's daughter, who she said is adorable.

And she is relishing her role in the play. She said: "What is not to like? The play is a wonderful piece of a slice of life. We have all the humorous characters.

"The circumstances these people find themselves in that are very similar to many of the circumstances we all find ourselves in.

"It is the best kind of humour because it comes from the real things in life. We are all a little silly. We can all laugh at ourselves. This helps us all laugh at ourselves."

She said it is a privilege to play Ethel, as the show has not been done for nearly 20 years.

And it also has a lot of sentimental value as Powers knows the Fonda family well, and it was Jane Fonda who purchased the rights to the play so her father, Henry Fonda, could play the role of Norman Thayer. He won an academy award for best actor for his role in the film in 1981.

Powers said: "It is a very sentimental piece, in a very positive way. It makes you laugh and cry and all the good stuff that plays are made of."

The American star started in the theatre before she went into films and TV, including The Girl from U.N.C.L.E from 1966-67.

She said: "It was not only a successful show. It was in fact ground breaking, which I didn't realise at the time. It was the first time ever an hour episodic TV series starred a woman in the lead role. It was quite monumental."

But it is for Hart to Hart she is most recognised. She said: "It was so dearly loved. We were on TV with the show for seven years. It is syndicated in 69 countries. It keeps getting repeated. It is in Germany again and in France again.

"I get a whole new group of fans who are now in their 20s. It is quite interesting."

More recently Powers starred in ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here alongside Fatima Whitbread, Pat Sharp and Crissy Rock, and was the first to be voted out.

When asked about her time in the jungle she said: "I don't think we have long enough to talk about it."

She will re-release her memoir, Stefanie Powers One From The Hart, at the end of the month which has an extra chapter dedicated to her time in the jungle adding, "you have to buy the book" to hear about it.

On Golden Pond is at the Wycombe Swan from January 24-28 at 7.30pm. Tickets range from £20 to £27. Call 01494512000 or go to www.wycombeswan.co.uk