Under the microscope

Former politician and Strictly contestant Ann Widdecombe, 71, answers our health quiz

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

YES, easily. My main exercise is walking.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

I DON’T slavishly count how many portions I have. I eat a lot of fish and spinach and avocado, so I eat healthily.

POP ANY PILLS?

THE most I will take is a Nurofen if I have a headache.

EVER DIETED?

YES, in 2002 I did two diet challenges, one for a radio programme and the other for Celebrity Fit Club, and I lost 18lb on each.

ANY VICES?

EVERY night before I go to bed I read and have a nightcap, which tends to be a brandy. If the book is interesting, it might become a double.

MOST SERIOUS ILLNESS?

A DETACHED retina in my left eye in 2010, the year I retired. I was in the country when I started seeing cobwebs in my eye. Realising what it was likely to be, I jumped on a train to London, got to the eye hospital and had an operation immediately. I was also very unwell with viral labyrinthitis (an ear infection) in 2002. It went on for about five months. I couldn’t drive for nine weeks. My doctor told me to keep moving and eventually it passed.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

MY MOTHER had arthritis and had two hip replacements. My grandmother had it, too. But both my parents lived long lives. My mother lived to 95 and my father to 89. My brother died of oesophageal cancer in 2010 aged 73.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

I COPE if it is in a leg or an arm, but I am very feeble if I have earache.

HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?

MY APPENDIX when I was 16. I was at boarding school and experienced the most massive pains. I was taken to hospital and operated on.

EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?

I SEE no point going under the knife just to change the way I look.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

NO. Fortunately I operate on a pretty even keel.

HANGOVER CURE?

I HAD a hangover when I was young and couldn’t bear it, so I do not drink enough to get one.

ANY PHOBIAS?

I HAVE a bad height phobia that is getting worse. I will take a detour to avoid driving over a high bridge.

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?

NOTHING, but I need seven hours’ sleep. All the time I was in politics I was very tired, as the volume of work meant I couldn’t get my seven hours.