At 61, Dirk Benedict might still hold the charisma to impress the ladies, but the actor's chances are dim if he's planning to woo Indian bombshell Shilpa Shetty, as older men don't fall on the Bollywood star's list of suitors.

The former A-Team star, known as The Face, has admitted he feels a little something when he's near the sexy actress, as he said in the Diary Room: "Although I can't pronounce her name, which is a hindrance, I've been flirting with her; I have to stop doing that."

Dirk also asked: "And you'll give me Shilpa's phone number?" However, while the veteran TV star was wondering how to approach the Indian beauty, Shipa showed him a ray of hope by describing him in the Celebrity Big Brother house as "very sexy".

She let the confession slip while chatting to Cleo Rocos, but it seems that the 30-year age gap will stand in the way of true love as Shilpa just can't see beyond the grey hairs, reports Contactmusic.

"He's sexy and old," Shilpa explained, to which a disbelieving Cleo called her "full-on fussy".

"He makes you laugh, he's gentlemanly. What's missing?" Cleo asked, prompting Shilpa to answer bluntly: "Age."

Meanwhile Animal activists in Britain are urging voters to back Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty to become the next winner of celebrity show Big Brother.

Shetty is taking part in the Celebrity Big Brother reality TV circus and has to contend with the antics of Jade Goody and her clan.

The 31-year-old Indian beauty, who supported the drive to raise awareness of the cruelty towards circus animals, has starred in a campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to highlight their plight.

The poster carried an anti-circus message in which Shetty, dressed in a tighter tiger-striped body suit and crouched behind the bars of a cage, urged people to boycott the circus.

A PETA spokesman said: "When Shilpa did her advertisement against circuses for PETA, she had no idea that she would eventually be living in the midst of one. We encourage everyone to vote for Shilpa in tomorrow night's show."