Questionnaire

The eighties pop star and now the new guest designer on ‘Better Gardens’ reveals her passion for the great outdoors – and Helen Mirren. Just don’t remind her about Noel Edmonds…

What have you enjoyed recently on television or radio?
Fork to Fork on Channel 4 with Monty Don and his wife. It has a fresh, real-life approach to growing fruit and vegetables which is easy to relate to. I very much like the way gardening is incorporated into their lifestyle – in many ways it mirrors my own home life.

What is your all-time favourite programme?
Porridge still makes me laugh – Ronnie Barker is a genius.

Whose job on television would you most like to have?
Ray Mears’s. Who wouldn’t want to visit those fantastic wilderness areas, even if we don’t have his survival skills?

What is your first memory of television or radio?
The first moon landing 30 years ago.

Which television or radio appearance are you embarrassed to recall?
The Noel Edmonds “Gotcha” award. I was asked to join a discussion about wildlife and conservation issues on a local radio station. The host James Cameron, went off and never reappeared, leaving me to keep what I thought was a live programme going. There was one other guest who kept spouting his eccentric views. You can guess who that was behind the false beard.

Who on TV do you find sexy?
Helen Mirren.

Do you watch the soaps, and if so, who is your favourite character?
No, I’m afraid not.

Have you always loved gardening and had “green fingers”?
I’ve always appreciated gardening, but since I moved back to Hertfordshire I’ve grown to love actually doing it myself.

Would you ever want to go back to being a pop singer?
I’m always open to challenges, I jumped at the chance when I was invited to be a guest designer on Better Gardens.

What do you think of the current revival of eighties music and fashion?
Is there one? I loved it all first time around.

What do you think of the acts and the music when you watch Top of the Pops now?
I enjoy it now just as much as I’ve always done, and so does my son, Harry, who is two.

Would you like your own child to follow in your father Marty’s and your own footsteps with a career in music and entertainment?
I don’t mind what he grows up to do – as long as he is healthy and happy.

In a natural disaster, which one possession would you rescue from your home?
My photo albums.

Describe yourself in three words.
I love life.

Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
No, but there have been plenty of encounters with human beings of an extraordinary kind.

Complete this sentence. I wish….
“They still had attendants who filled your car with petrol at service stations.”

What is your pet hate?
Having to fill my car with petrol myself.

What makes you nervous?
Nuclear energy and its potential for accidents.

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to follow in your footsteps?
Work hard, play hard and follow your instincts.

Have you made any new year’s resolutions?
No, I don’t do resolutions.