I think holidays come in all sizes - sometimes you just need to relax.

I had the biggest dry-cleaning bill on 'Daybreak' because I was always on the run and spilling coffee on myself.

Much is written about parenting - its joys and tribulations - and then about the transition into hot flushes, night sweats and (if we're lucky) a new life as a grandmother.

I am older than most of my on-screen colleagues, and the ones behind the scenes, too.

Sequin trousers can be scary and many women may worry they will be unflattering on their legs.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to keep things clean. It's just the neatness I struggle with.

The more I go to Australia, the more I realise how enormous the country is and how much there is to see. There's really nowhere like it.

Wallace and Gromit's Children's Charity does a fantastic job, raising funds to improve the lives of sick children in hospitals and hospices throughout the U.K.

After my first marriage ended in 2002 I went out with someone who made me feel very sexy. He was ten years younger than me and full of the joy of youth, which was wonderful after all the sadness of divorce, and a great confidence boost.

My worst habit is my untidiness. It bewilders my family, the degree to which I can create absolute chaos around me.

The clever thing about the designs on 'Strictly' is that the razzle-dazzle comes from the materials used in making the dresses rather than because the cut or style is plunging or revealing.

Well we have a tiny garden, it's like a postage stamp, so generally we try to get out to the parks in London as much as possible.

I don't want to look old in my advanced years so I go on a power walk for half an hour every day, and it helps to keep the pounds off.

Looking back on my early romantic life, I was more worried about what impression I made on my dates than what I thought of them. I would approach them as though they were job interviews, trying to wow the man so that he would ask me out again and I got the 'job.'

Of course, I could try IVF. But having watched my friend TV presenter Clare Nasir go through it, I know how tough the journey is. Emotional fool I may be, but even I can see that's too selfish a course of action to impose on my family.

You can't beat a British holiday for rock pooling and sandcastles with fish and chips on the seafront - perfect.

I think I learned I'm braver than I think I am.

I used to be chaotic and unkempt.

My husband is very much of the ilk that expects to waited on hand and foot during the festive season.

If you said, 'I'm giving up smoking,' people would put on a parade. If you said, 'I'm going to eat more healthily,' people would say, 'Good for you.' If it's drinking, the first reaction is, 'That's so boring. You're going to be so boring.'

When you're juggling children, a marriage and a couple of jobs, something has to give - and, for me, it's living in a perfectly tidy home.

It's a bit of a joke among my friends that, although I'm very busy, active and constantly rushing around all over the place, I've always struggled to fit any 'real' exercise into my life.

A friend puts body moisturiser on every day because it makes her feel desirable. I have started doing it, too, and it really works.

When you've been in a relationship for a long time, the physical side of things can be very unspontaneous.

I have always felt so bombarded with dietary advice that always seemed to make me feel guilty about the 'naughty' food I secretly preferred, that I switched off and ate what I fancied.

In some ways it's hard not to be a bit cynical when a friend tells you about their fantastic new diet, because there's a fresh eating fad in the press every day.

I think that political coverage generally comes in on a level that means if you live and breathe Westminster detail and diary, then you get it.

I have been lucky enough to go to all sorts of places - diving in Malaysia, snorkelling with wild turtles in Cuba and dolphin-spotting in Kenya.

I realise, of course, that my cluttered existence is deeply unfashionable.

Some of the most productive people in history have been self-confessed 'muck-middens,' as my husband would say: Agatha Christie, Benjamin Franklin and even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few.

I think a lot of the political programmes have decided that most people aren't interested in politics, so they broadcast only for people who are.

Whatever my husband may say, I don't think men really understand what it is like to be a woman, or particularly a mother, at Christmas time.

Just because it is Christmas doesn't mean you should bottle all your feelings up. Mind you, sometimes being a good wife does mean knowing when to shut up.

True, I do love finding something nice for my nearest and dearest, but there is still a pressure to find the perfect present for every member of the family.

Ageing might have its drawbacks but it brings with it hard-won wisdom and a wonderful sense of freedom.

There are lots of scary things about getting older, but one of the biggest, I guess, is death itself. Especially in midlife, when we suddenly wake up to the fact we may have fewer years left than we have already lived.

Midlife is a time of explosive change, when our hormones rampage and our bodies alter, forcing us into a whole new chapter of life whether we want it or not. Everyone has a moment when they realise for sure that this so-called passage of time is changing them - and perhaps not in a good way.

I work in an industry where most people are way below 50.

At 49, you want people to think you are at least a decade younger, not a year older.

The key to transforming your look with a collar is ensuring that it looks as if it's part of the dress, so there shouldn't be any skin visible underneath.

There's no need to go the full hog - a touch of subtle sequins will lift any outfit.

You don't always have to opt for a dress on a night out - a sequin pencil skirt can be far more chic.

I wear a lot of block colour dresses on television as the simplicity translates well on camera and blue is often a colour I rely on as it goes with everything.

As a child, I would rush to the school gates as the bell went, to be collected by my mother, Marilyn, who was always immaculately dressed in a pencil skirt and matching jacket.

There's something deliciously flirty about a ruffle.

Since I was a little girl, my family has taken a holiday to Cornwall every spring half-term.

If it means being settled and content, getting older can be a relief.

Once, when I was about eight, my mum handed me a sandwich, and I remarked: 'What are those weird things on your hands?' I was referring to the visible pores, which were such a contrast to my own alabaster-smooth skin. My mum looked mortified, while my grandma laughed and said: 'They're nothing - look at mine!'

Coast is my go-to store for any awards do - it's brilliant for occasion wear.

We actively encourage teenagers not to have babies, we applaud young career women in their twenties, then before you know it you find yourself, as I did, aged 32 at a friend's wedding and being quizzed by everyone about why you haven't got round to reproducing yet.