If no one saw - it didn't count. It's only when you eat in front of strangers or people that make you feel guilty that food is really fattening.

I cry at everything, even the length of the queue at Sainsbury's.

The real me now may not be thin but she's got the cake and, if she likes, can eat it too.

In the 20 long, hungry years between my late teens and late 30s I bought in to virtually every new diet and/or exercise regime that hoved into view, particularly at this most vulnerable time for those of us prone to poor body image - a new year.

Society prizes a girl for being thin more than anything else she might bring to the table.

My theory is that one needs to be loved completely, unconditionally, and unfettered by parental disapproval, if one is to get happily through life which, after all, presents its own hurdles.

I don't subscribe to the 'Doctor Who' magazine and we've only got the normal amount of 'Doctor Who' fridge magnets.