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

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.'

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

I used to be chaotic and unkempt.

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

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

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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.