Why age just is a number for Carol
SIXTY is the new 20, claims Carol Vorderman who says she wants more play and less work.
The maths whizz said: “I’m 60 – I know that because my birth certificate says so. But I’ve got the greatest sense of freedom. I feel like I’m 20!”
Twice-married Carol added: “I was a good daughter to my mum until she died in 2017, and I’ve looked after my kids, Katie,
29, and 24-year-old Cameron. So it’s like… what shall I do?”
Carol said she cannot believe she has been hosting the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, for 22 years.
“Next year it’ll be 40 years since Countdown started,” she added.
“But I’m not that bothered about being on the telly. I worked my butt off last year and I don’t want to do it.
“I found lockdown difficult – like everybody. I was not well. Tired beyond tired. So in January I said to my agent, ‘I’m going to concentrate on my health.’”
Her work with Pride of Britain makes her keen to help others.
She has worked with Swansea and Cambridge universities giving away bursaries to pupils from deprived backgrounds and says: “I want to do even more. My old school in Rhyl is still 50 per cent free school meals. I’m going to be doing a lot with them.”
She has become a student again, learning gerontology – the study of ageing – adding: “If my 50s were about the menopause, the 60s are about...I love my life so much, I want to carry on like this.”
As nominations open for Pride of Britain today, Carol counts herself lucky to be marking more everyday heroes.