IN THIS ISSUE

I SOMETIMES FEEL as if Ruby Wax and I grew up together. We’re the same vintage, and while Ruby has spent the past three decades blazing a trail in front of the cameras, I’ve watched her extraordinary journey from the sidelines. Realising she wouldn’t make it as a classical actress, Ruby turned to comedy and pioneered a new approach to the genre. Along the way, she reinvented the TV interview when she famously flung herself on to Fergie’s bed while chatting to the recently divorced duchess, then rifled through her chest of drawers to reveal – to the fascination of 15 million viewers – that Fergie colour-codes her T-shirts. But while she made success look easy, Ruby was privately battling crippling depression. At the height of her fame, she withdrew to gain a master’s degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy from Oxford University. Since then, she has raised awareness of mental health issues, publishing several books on the subject. We’re proud to present the first extract from her latest, How to be Human, on page 34, based on research into how the brain works and decoding the language of the mind. OCCASIONALLY, in my job, I get an unexpected surprise. This happened a few weeks ago when a little-known photographer, Ursula Daphne Aitchison, emailed me enclosing a few of her snaps of women with their dogs, her pet project (ha ha). I loved them and thought you would, too. Have a look on page 40 – I promise you, they will make you smile.