Scottish Daily Mail

Under the microscope

TELEVISION personalit­y Johnny Ball, 79, answers our health quiz

- EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY? Interview by GEMMA CALVERT

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

OCCASIONAL­LY two at a time! I walk about five miles a day with my cocker spaniel, Holly. I ski every year and, now and again, I do a fitness regimen that I set up when I was on Strictly Come Dancing five years ago.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

YES. I don’t think much about my diet, but my wife Di does. I have five prunes or five apricots on my cereal and I love fresh vegetables. There’s nothing nicer than a chopped red onion and cheese.

EVER DIETED?

I DO like going to the pub, and four or five nights a week I’ll have a couple of pints, which is of immense value because a little bit of alcohol is such a relaxant — but it can add a few pounds. I’m 5ft 10½ and weigh 14st. If I get too plump, Di will serve up smaller meals.

ANY VICES?

I HAVE a very sweet tooth. As I’ve got older, driving is more tiring so I chain-eat sweets to keep my blood sugar up. If I’ve been lecturing [he gives talks on science and mathematic­s] in Manchester, say, and have a 180-mile drive home, I’ll polish off a full bag of Liquorice Allsorts.

WORST ILLNESS?

GOUT. I’ve had it for five years in my wrist and ankle. I’ve read that it’s more painful than childbirth. If I’m certain it’s coming, I take a naproxen tablet I’m prescribed every 12 hours and it’s gone within two days. NO. I’m quite happy with how I look.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

I AM a wimp. I’ll go on about the slightest niggle. In 1974, I was filming in Scotland and at 11pm, coming out of the bar, our skiing instructor took us onto the dry ski slope without any training. I fell and my little finger hooked onto the mesh slope. It was the worst pain I’ve ever been in.

IS SEX IMPORTANT?

NOT overly. We have a nice cuddle and we’re fine.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

FROM time to time, perhaps for half a day or so. I remedy down feelings with humour. My wife and I laugh a lot.

HANGOVER CURE?

I NEVER have hangovers. My brother-inlaw used to sink eight pints on a Friday but I’ve never been able to do that. By the third, I get fed up of drinking.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

I WORRY about kids using handheld gadgets because it’s making them anti social. When something is worrying me, I get to sleep by going through the songs on Frank Sinatra’s Songs For Swingin’ Lovers album in my head.

ANY PHOBIAS?

NONE, but years ago I recorded a TV programme at Billingsga­te Fish Market and had to put my hand into a tray of live eels. They wrapped themselves around my fingers. It was horrendous.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

WHEN people ask me if I’m going to be cremated or buried, I always say ‘I’m not going’. By that I mean that I’m not going until I do, so why think about it? Johnny Ball’S book, Wonders Beyond numbers, a Brief history of all Things Mathematic­al (Bloomsbury, £16.99) is on sale now.

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