In 2007, she claimed director Michael Winner had treated her "like a piece of meat" at a casting call in 1964. Asked about the incident, Winner told "The Guardian": "I don't remember asking her to turn around but if I did I wasn't being serious. I was only doing what the agent asked me – and for this I get reviled! Helen's a lovely person, she's a great actress and I'm a huge fan, but her memory of that moment is a little flawed."