Under the microscope
CRIME writer Martina Cole, 57, answers our health quiz
CAN YOU RUN UP STAIRS?
IT DEPENDS on the stairs. Buckingham Palace probably not, in my house in Kent, yes. I hate exercise. Mum’s favourite comedienne — the late Phyllis Diller — used to say: ‘I have a good brisk sit!’ That’s me!
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
YES. I live a lot of the year in Northern Cyprus and all the food there is so fresh, healthy and delicious. My garden is full of fruit trees — plums, figs, pomegranates — and I’m getting a banana tree.
POP ANY PILLS?
MY SON Christopher, 39, makes me take multivitamins because I often work more than 16 hours a day when I’m writing, and I don’t have time to cook much.
EVER DIETED?
ONCE I get to Cyprus all the weight drops off me. I am just under 5ft and weigh 7 st 10 lb. I’m tiny and only take a size 2 shoe.
ANY VICES?
I SMOKE as many cigarettes as I can get my hands on. I’ve smoked since my teens though I gave up when I was pregnant. My other vice is drink. I like a good wine, and a really good whisky after a hard day’s work is great.
EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY?
SOMETIMES I have Botox round my eyes if I’m doing TV, but I’m not tempted by surgery. It’s just not worth the risk.
ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
NOT really. My dad died of cancer and Mum never got over it. She went to bed two days after his funeral and we buried her eight months later.
HAD ANYTHING REMOVED?
WHEN I was 39 I had a tumour removed from my leg after my daughter Freddie Mary (now 19) was born. It was bone cancer. Touch wood I’ve been fine since.
WORST ILLNESS?
RHEUMATOID arthritis. It started when I was 21. I’m right-handed and now my right arm is completely bent at the elbow because of it, so no one ever sees me without my arms covered. It affects my spine, too. The pain is constant despite painkillers. As I write all my storylines in long hand, it’s agony.
IS SEX IMPORTANT?
IT CERTAINLY is. I always remember Boy George saying: ‘I’d rather have a cup of tea!’ I thought like that for a long time, but I think as I’m coming out of my ‘change’ I’ve hit my stride again.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I GET depressed when bad things happen, but generally I like being happy. Years ago my son had a terrible car crash. He was only 17 and in a coma. When doctors said they’d try to wake him the next morning I said: ‘I wouldn’t if I were you. He’s a teenager.’ The doctor started laughing. I use humour to cope with sad things.
WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE?
WHEN I was 13, I read how many years of your life you lose in sleep, so I decided I wouldn’t sleep much. Now I have an average of four hours a night.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
YES, if I could go back to how I was at 35. It’s such a good age. I’d like to write stories forever. That would be perfect.
Martina’s latest novel, Get Even, is out in paperback (Headline, £7.99) on June 30.