How DOES Sue Ellen look better the older she gets? Dallas star Linda Gray looks barely a day older than she did forty years ago 

Left, aged 38 in a 1978 publicity picture for the series that made her famous . Right, aged 40: It’s 1980 and the mullet has landed. Yes, that’s Linda under all the make-up but she’s now a global star thanks to Dallas — at its peak audiences of 300 million tuned in worldwide and this was the year of the famous ‘Who shot JR?’ cliffhanger. Dr Aamer Khan, cosmetic doctor at Harley Street Skin Clinic, says: ‘She’s got naturally good teeth, which is a sign of her youth. The full mouth and slight natural jowling are also indications that she hasn’t really started ageing yet’

Left, looking glamorous in London in 1982 aged 42. By now, Linda’s marriage to album cover designer Ed Thrasher was in deep trouble and they officially split in 1983. Still, she looks radiant and natural, perhaps buoyed by all the support she received from co-stars Larry Hagman, who played JR, and Patrick Duffy and their wives — the cast were apparently as close as family.  Right, aged 45, she is pictured looking spectacular in silver in 1985 — although the over-styled hair looks as if it is thinning due to the rigours of getting that ‘big-hair’ look. There is also noticeable discolouration on her teeth and her jowl is tighter. ‘There is a general loss of volume in her face, with fewer fine lines and wrinkles around her eyes,’ says Dr Khan

Linda aged 46 (pictured left). Her teeth are what stand out in this photograph from 1986, which considering the enormous earrings and garish silver dress, is no mean feat. They look uneven and a little stained, so she clearly hasn’t splashed any of her $100,000-a-series pay cheque on dental treatment...yet.  In the second photo, aged 50 (right) she is pictured looking fresh-faced and relaxed in 1990, having left Dallas the previous year. It can’t have been easy to leave one of TV’s best-paid jobs, but she said: ‘In the end it was, you know, come on! This woman has been drunk for years! It was enough. I didn’t storm off in my high heels or anything, but it was enough'

Linda in 1994 aged 54 (left). She’s now got blonde highlights while her teeth look larger and whiter — and her cheeks plumper. Yet she said at the time: ‘Botox is so individual and I have no judgment on women who do have it done. I have thought about plastic surgery and I would never say never to anything.’ In the second picture it’s 2001 and Linda’s sporting an unflattering bleached crop. She still looks good for her age, 60, which is just as well because she’s about to go nude on the London stage in The Graduate. Dr Khan says: ‘I don’t believe she’s had any invasive plastic surgery since the last picture but she’s possibly had Botox because her forehead is so smooth. Dental work may also have been done’

Aged 64 (left), Linda has a heavy fringe and low brows, indicating this may be the botched brush with Botox Linda once admitted to. ‘One eyebrow just went up. I didn’t like it at all,’ she said. Mark Norfolk, clinical director of Transform Cosmetic Surgery, says: ‘You must be careful showing your neck and chest as it can highlight the difference to your face’s skin.’ Pictured right, aged 68, Linda is in Ireland in 2008 to launch a collection of silverware. Linda’s skin is smoother than at any point in the past ten years, although the dark hair and black eye make-up are hardly flattering. Dr Khan says: ‘The skin on her face is shinier and smoother, which hints at laser resurfacing’

Aged 71, Linda with very firm jawline in 2011 (left). She is concealing her neck and decolletage, which will look more aged than her face, and is preparing for a career comeback with the return of Dallas. Plastic surgeon Dr Sherrell J. Aston said at the time: ‘Linda Gray is a great example of a woman in Hollywood who is ageing with perfection. She is neither too taut nor too wrinkled.’ Right, aged 72, pictured squinting into the sun at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in LA in 2012. Linda’s face looks much fuller than in the previous year. ‘I never think one whit about age,’ she said at the time. ‘I think it’s the most boring subject in the world’

Linda aged 73, left, looking radiant in red in 2012, at the relaunch of Dallas. No need for a fringe to cover her unlined forehead, and that excessive fullness in her cheeks has gone down, too. This was a major career comeback for Linda. Her face looks great and this could, in Dr Khan’s opinion, be down to more laser resurfacing. Finally, she is pictured right, aged 74, looking gorgeous on Loose Women this week — her teeth are whiter than white, her skin radiant, her jawline as firm as it was years ago. If anything, she looks even more beautiful than she did when she was in Dallas. Linda attributes her preternaturally youthful looks to having led a healthy lifestyle for many years. We’ll let you decide — but there’s no knocking the results