under the microscope

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?

I’M FAIRLY fit — I’m not Charles Atlas, but I try to keep the decay at bay. At school and university I played rugby, then in the Eighties I took up marathon running. Ten years ago, I got caught up in doing triathlons, but I swam like a brick! I liked the cycling, so I stuck with that. I cycle into work every morning.

GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?

PROBABLY, but it’s not something I’d obsess about. When I get to work, I usually have a bowl of porridge with banana. But I wouldn’t have another apple if I hadn’t met my daily target. I could improve, but life’s too short.

ANY VICES?

I CERTAINLY don’t regard wine and cheese as naughty treats — they’re staples, I’m with the French on that!

POP ANY PILLS?

EVERY morning I take a vitamin C and zinc tablet to help bolster my immune system, especially with it being cold and flu season, but I’m not convinced they make any difference.

EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

I’M UGLY enough without any tinkering. And I just wouldn’t want to go to a hospital unless medically necessary.

ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?

TOUCH wood, not so far. My father passed away a few years ago, but he lived till the ripe old age of 86.

WORST ILLNESS OR INJURY?

A FEW years ago, I broke four ribs when a pitbull knocked me off my bike. The charming owner then had the audacity to reprimand me for scaring his dog. They can’t do much for broken ribs, you’re just sent off with strong painkillers. For eight weeks, sleeping was very uncomfortable and sneezing, coughing or laughing could aggravate it. Even now, when I turn to my right side I often feel a twinge.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

HAVING been at the birth of all four of my children, I don’t think any man can say they have a high pain threshold.

EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?

I’M A pretty positive thinker as, given the heartbreaking situations I’ve seen through work, it makes me really appreciate what I’ve got.

HANGOVER CURE?

I WISH I had one! I think the only answer is not to drink and we all know that’s not going to happen. My rule is always to go for quality over quantity.

SLEEP WELL?

WHEN I did the breakfast show for the BBC, I had 4am starts, which threw off my sleep schedule for a decade. I’d often be in bed before all my children: I’d be nodding off by 8pm. I still go to bed early, but more like at 10pm.

ANY PHOBIAS?

AS I’VE got older I’m less keen on heights. When I went to Toronto on holiday, we went up the CN Tower, and the glass walkway freaked me out — I couldn’t stand on it.

LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?

ONLY if everyone else I knew could. Being old without your loved ones could be very lonely.

Dermot works with the Duchenne Children’s trust — pledgit.net/ campaign/2btY/help-end-duchennes