Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
Haven My ULRIKA JONSSON
The television presenter, writer and cook, 51, in the kitchen of her home in Oxfordshire
1 TOP BRASS
I love my kitchen. I’ve been cooking since I was 12, when I moved from Sweden to England to live with my mum and stepfather, who was an excellent cook, and in 2017 I was a finalist in Celebrity MasterChef. It was terrifying but an educational experience! This cornet belonged to my dad and it brings back memories of summers I spent with him in Sweden. He was bonkers – I recall being woken at 4am by him playing his cornet. He was only 53 – I was 27 – when he died, and I still miss him.
2 GREAT GRAN
My maternal grandmother Astrid and I were very close. She used to let me eat and do whatever I wanted. When she died I found this tea towel, with a ‘B’ on it for her married surname, Börjesson, and another with ‘H’ on it for her maiden name, Hansson. I think it was a wedding gift. I always use the tea towel to drape over the dough when I bake, and I talk to Astrid at the same time.
3 PAIR OF JOKERS
When I became a team captain on Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer’s BBC comedy show Shooting Stars in 1995, there would often be just the beginnings of a script, nothing more. I’d anxiously ask what my line was and they’d reply,
‘Say what you like,’ which was very trusting!
They signed this for me while we did a tour of the show in 1996. I love and worship them both.
4 MYSTERY MAN
My paternal grandfather, Folke Jonsson, was an opera singer in Sweden. He was a man of few words, who walked around humming and smoking a ‘cigarillo’, a sort of cross between a cigarette and a cigar. My grandmother made him sleep in the cellar, for some unknown reason, which made him a bit of a mystery – and quite intimidating to a small child – but I was always strangely drawn to him. This is him dressed up for a role.
5 SILVER SAVIOUR
This Gucci silver pillbox became a fixture in my handbag when I developed a back problem around 2007, as it housed the strong painkillers and anti-inflammatories I had to carry around with me. It’s got a dent in it but I would be very sad if I lost it. I have degenerative disc disease and arthritis in my hips, but exercise and alternative remedies have helped enormously.
6 A BREED APART
I used to have three bulldogs but lost our beloved Dexter when he was just four years old, when the strong medication he was given for a skin condition caused his kidneys to fail. I still have Nessie, who is eight, and Leo, two. They’ve been a tremendous support and have helped me greatly at low points of my life. I respect them more than I respect a lot of people. As Doris Day once said, ‘I’ve yet to meet an animal I don’t like. I can’t say the same about humans’.