Cinzano of the vermouth market in Europe was measured in the low single digits, sales that placed it a distant second to Martini. As a result of a 1997 merger, Grand Metropolitan became Diageo; two years later, Diageo sold Cinzano to the privately held Gruppo Campari. The Cinzano bicycling team had a central role in the film "Breaking Away". Cinzano was well known in Britain for its humorous television advertisements featuring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins. One of these featured the pair on a plane journey, with Rossiter accidentally hitting the "recline" switch on Collins chair, causing her to spill a
Joan Collins achievement. In 2015, Collins was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity. Since the late-1970s, Collins has written several books (including beauty and autobiographical books). In 1988, she published her first novel, "Prime Time", and she has continued to publish various kinds of writing. A member of the Conservative Party, Collins was invited to attend the funeral of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in April 2013. Collins was born in Paddington, London, and brought up in Maida Vale, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant), a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins