It only takes around 60 seconds to cast your vote in the polling station. 60 seconds to protect the economy, 60 seconds to protect your jobs, 60 seconds to protect the services your family relies on. A lot is at stake during those 60 seconds.

I really hate people who feel their private lives should be paraded, and there are magazines like 'Hello!,' 'OK' and 'Bella' totally devoted to this.

What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these public-school-type army officers talking about what was going on out there. I kept thinking, 'Why don't we get the true voice of the squaddie? Why don't we hear from the lads on the battlefield?'

The one thing that I'm absolutely sure about is that the people of Gaza aren't going anywhere. And neither are the people of Israel.

If I have a weakness, it's for timepieces - if I see one I like and can afford it, I'll buy it.

I've always had a lot of time for servicemen. Yet there's been this bad relationship between civilians and the armed services. We say to soldiers, 'We want you when we want you, but stay away in peacetime. We're proud of you, but keep away from my daughter and don't come drinking in my pub.'

I don't think you should go into politics until you can stand on your own two feet economically, if possible, and you know enough about the world.