Reporters

I studied French and Politics at Reading University and decided to try a career in journalism after someone told me I wasn't diplomatic enough for a career in the Diplomatic Corps! 

Boxing in Gosport

For a while I lurked in Daytime TV at Pebble Mill working on a chat show. That was great fun researching celebrities.

It was there that I met my hero Martin Bell - the war correspondent.  He'd just returned from Bosnia and had been invited on the show.    

That's what I love about my job because every day I meet new people.  I've interviewed prime ministers, actors and olympians but the people who really stick in my mind are those who are just like the rest of us but have done something really courageous or amazing.  It's a privilege to meet those people and I am frequently humbled.

The job is hectic and not remotely glamorous!  Sometimes when I'm standing in a muddy puddle in the New Forest using the cameraman's wing mirror to put on my lipstick I wonder what the viewers would think if they could see me!  I like to get stuck in though which is just as well!  The producer sent me to a Ladies' Boxing class in Gosport and I was lucky to escape intact! 

I like to unwind in my garden in West Sussex which is a sanctuary from all the frantic deadlines.  I now grow all my own fruit and vegetables which is really rewarding!  It makes me sound as though I'm very healthy and I do like to reminisce about the year I ran the Great South Run in Southsea but that was in 2005 and I would struggle to run to my corner shop now!