‘It’s not true all women on TV are hostile to each other. Actually, all the female newsreaders get on well’

lunch in the sun at a mountaintop res- definite taurant – goat’s cheese salad, chips and rosé for me. We’d then go to Darkwood Beach in Antigua and take out a sailing yacht. Later, at the Soneva Fushi resort in the Maldives, I’d go scuba-diving, article we’d have seafood at the outdoor res- We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly taurant, and the day would end lying on the warm sand watching the stars. probing questions – and only accept The happiest moment you will cherish forever… The births of my children. I THE definitive answer. This week it’s was completely unprepared for the sheer ITV newsreader Mary Nightingale joy of seeing them for the first time. The saddest time that shook your The prized possession you value above The priority activity if you were the world… I’ve lost both parents in the past all others… The four rings on my wed- Invisible Woman for a day… I’d love to five years and was surprised to feel ding finger are all very significant – my move among lions and elephants. like an orphan. My lovely mum always wedding ring, my mum’s wedding ring The pet hate that makes your hackles watched my programmes and to realise and the engagement rings of my granny rise... People talking loudly on mobile she isn’t out there is still very hard. and mother-in-law. Each represents phones, especially on public transport. someone very dear to me, but sadly all The unfulfilled ambition that contin- three women are no longer alive. The temptation you wish you could ues to haunt you… I’d love to horse- resist… Pessimism. My job involves The unlikely interest that The misapprehension about yourself ride across Patagonia. The biggest regret you wish you could engages your curiosity… you wish you could erase… There’s a reading about terrible problems and I The philosophy that underpins your amend… That I’d worried less as I I’m a good dressmaker. misconception that all women on TV find it increasingly hard to remember life… Try hard at everything and try to was growing up. I was always anxious When I was a student are ultra-competitive and hostile to there’s a lot of good in the world too. appreciate everything. about whether I’d find a career I loved I made all my own each other. Actually, all the female The person who has influenced you or be able to afford to buy a house. clothes, and earned newsreaders get on well. I’m really The order of service at your funeral… most… I first presented with good money mak- good friends with and I’ll leave the precise details to my The book that holds an everlasting on ITV’s Lon- ing ball gowns have great lunches with Fiona Bruce. family, but I hope there’ll be some resonance… Rebecca by Daphne du don Tonight in 1993, and he and wedding enthusiastic hymn singing. Maurier was the first grown-up book I The crime you would commit knowing taught me a huge amount about dresses for read, when I was aged about 12. I still you could get away with it… I’d be a The way you want to be remembered… newsreading and journalism. my friends. remember the vivid sense of place and serial squatter and move between other As a good mother, wife, daughter, sis- The figure from history for the brilliant description of a The treasured item you lost and wish people’s gorgeous properties. On my ter and friend. I suspect I fail from time whom you’d most like to young woman trying to find you could have again… Youth. I’m 53, list would be Richard Branson’s Neck- to time, but I hope I’m always kind. buy a pie and a pint... I’d her way in the world. and one of the oldest women on TV. er Island and a palazzo in Tuscany. go back in time to be The Plug… Mary Nightingale presents The film you can watch time with the Queen at her The unending quest that drives you The song that means most to you… the ITV evening news, weekdays, and time again… Some Coronation to see on… To make a secure home for my David Bowie’s Changes takes me back 6.30pm (except Easter Monday, Like It Hot. Marilyn how she felt about husband Paul and our children, Molly, to hanging out with my big sister, Sally, 6.45pm). Visit .com/news. n Monroe and Tony becoming the 14, and Joe, 12. I’m fortunate to have a who was a mad Bowie fan. As told to Rob McGibbon Curtis are a wonder- monarch at such job that helps us live well and have ful comic pairing. lovely holidays, but kids are expensive. The way you would spend a young age. your fantasy 24 hours, with The piece of wis- The poem that touches your soul… no travel restrictions... It I’m not at all religious, but I find the Right: Tony dom you would would start at our house in Curtis and pass on to a hymn Dear Lord And Father Of Man- Dartmouth. All the family Marilyn child… Never kind incredibly moving. would head out in our lit- Monroe in tle boat on the River Dart Some Like try to be The event that altered the course of It Hot. cool. Just your life and character… When I was a – we’d fish for mackerel Above be your- City dealer a friend suggested I do a and have croissants and a right: a self, no mat- screen test for TV Tokyo’s business cappuccino. I’d spend the wedding ter how insig- programme. I ended up on Japanese morning skiing in Val dress and thread. Far nificant you TV every day and everything that’s d’Isère with family and might feel. happened since is down to that. friends, followed by y right: lions am l , a s ure at Next week

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