1 She doesn’t have it all mapped out
“I’m fascinated by people who have a life plan, because I didn’t. And I still don’t. I never even thought about having children; it just happened! Maybe sometimes in life, that’s the best way to approach things.”
2 She’s got seven kids still at home
“It’s incredibly noisy. We are so not the perfect family and my lot do fight, but they are quite quiet. Girls are quieter than boys anyway, but my boys are quiet because their dad is very quiet and gentle.”
3 She’s not into perfection
“I do everything imperfectly. I do things quickly a lot of the time so I end up doing a lot of things very badly. But then, I don’t have a desperate desire for perfection.”
4 She texts her husband constantly
“We text all the time! He texted me this morning to say: “I love you.” And I texted him back: “I love you too.” I’m sure lots of people think – eurgh!”
5 She’s been through tough times
“I’ve had downs in my life, but if you know the dark side, then you can appreciate the bright side.”
6 She doesn’t mind Mario Rosenstock taking the Mickey
“I keep telling him he needs to straighten my hair because I am no longer curly! And I do not use the word ‘genuinely’ anymore!”
7 Inside, she’s insecure
“I think everyone remains that insecure 16-year-old at heart. I think most people have the same doubts and if you don’t have doubts you’d be pretty arrogant. If you’re over-confident you can lose empathy, and I think empathy is the only thing that makes me a good journalist.”
8 A photographic memory’s her greatest gift
“I have, which I got from my father, an almost photographic memory. I assimilate information very quickly. For instance, when I write my questions for Prime Time in the afternoon, I don’t look at them again because I’ve memorised them.”
9 She’s never had Botox
“Look at my forehead! It would be a pretty bad job if I had!”
10 She loves to read
“I read a lot of autobiographies. I’m reading Hilary Clinton’s at the moment. It’s actually very dull because it’s about her foreign policy, but I really want her to run and I think she could do it. It’s an important glass ceiling to break.”
