Under the microscope

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

I RUN up the train station stairs a lot. I like to feel fit — I do Pilates and go to the gym when I can. I also do a lot of walking — I haven’t wanted or owned a car since 2004.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

DEFINITELY. I make my own granola (annoying, I know!) and have loads of fruit with that. And I love vegetables.

EVER DIETED?

GOSH, yes. In my 20s I did faddy things like eating lots of cottage cheese and Ryvita. Now I pretty much eat what I like but try not to go mad on naughty treats. I am 8st and 5ft 3in tall.

ANY VICES?

PERHAPS sloth — I have found it worryingly easy to do nothing for days at a time in lockdown.

POP ANY PILLS?

NOT religiously. I take omega-3, good for the brain and the heart. If I have a virus I take vitamin C, zinc, vitamin D and propolis — a compound made by bees — to boost my immunity.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

NOTHING special. My father is still going well, aged 95, and mum was well into her 80s when she died.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

I’LL FACE it but I don’t like it.

HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?

I HAD my tonsils out when I was about seven. At that time, if you had frequent sore throats, they just whipped them out. The nicest thing was being told to eat lots of ice cream afterwards.

WORST ILLNESS?

A REALLY bad bout of flu many years ago. I was in bed for two or three days. I was in Australia and I missed two or three shows of a charming comedy I was in called My Fat Friend.

TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES?

I HAVE had acupuncture for a sprain. You get these little problems working in the theatre and as you are away from home, you often end up going to see someone who doesn’t know you. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

NEVER. I have certainly been fed up but depression is something else entirely and has never happened.

EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?

NO. Operations you don’t need are not a good idea.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE?

I AM a poor sleeper. I start processing stuff that happened or that slightly worries me about the next day. My dad had the same problem and my granny used to say: ‘Just lie there because at least your body is resting.’

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

I DON’T think so. If you could live for ever having a great life and being fit and healthy, that would be lovely. But we all seem to be programmed for slow but sure deterioration.

PAULA is currently starring as Elaine Jones in Coronation Street on Virgin Media One.