Joan Collins to wed No.5 on Sunday

Collins' latest marriage comes despite her saying recently she would never wed for a fifth time

LONDON, England -- Veteran British actress Joan Collins' much-talked about fifth marriage will take place in London this weekend, her spokeswoman has said.

About 180 friends and family are expected to attend the ceremony when Collins, 68, marries Percy Gibson, a 36-year-old Peruvian-born theatre company manager.

"It's happening on Sunday. The rest of the details are private," her spokeswoman Stella Watson told Reuters on Thursday.

Watson refused to discuss the venue for the wedding and would not comment on speculation that it is to take place at London's Claridge's Hotel.

CNN.com Europe More news  from our European edition

She said Collins's three children would be present but not her sister, novelist Jackie Collins.

It is thought that actor Sir Michael Caine and former James Bond star Roger Moore will be among the guests.

Collins was an established actress in Britain in the 1950s where she was a Rank starlet and appeared in many films, before moving to America in the 1960s where she appeared in the original Star Trek.

But it was her role as Alexis Carrington in the 1980s TV soap-opera Dynasty that brought her global fame.

Of the wedding dress, Watson said: "Nolan Miller has designed Joan's dress -- he designed all of her 'Dynasty' dresses."

'Struck by thunderbolt'

Collins and Gibson are thought to have met when she starred in the play "Love Letters," which toured the United States last autumn.

He also helped edit her novel, "Star Quality."

He is said to have popped the question after a whirlwind courtship lasting just weeks.

Collins told The Times last December that falling in love with Gibson was "like being struck by a thunderbolt."

"Percy is such a special human being. I think this person is more in tune with me than anybody I've ever met. I feel more myself with Percy Gibson than I ever have with anyone," she said.

Collins first marriage was to screen idol Maxwell Reed in 1952, although it only lasted a few years.

She then wed British actor and singer Anthony Newley in 1963. They had two children together -- a son, Sacha, and a daughter, Tara, before divorcing in 1971.

Her third and longest marriage was to record company executive Ronald Kass, with whom she had a daughter, Katy.

The pair were married for 12 years before divorcing in 1984.

Marriage number four was a brief liaision with Swedish pop singer Peter Holm, whom she divorced in 1987.