All a girl needs is a pair of nice shoes

Gloria Hunniford

GLORIA Hunniford, 78, has been a TV presenter and broadcaster for more than five decades, appearing on shows such as Loose Women.

I was a rebellious child. I started singing aged seven, making my own money, which made me independent. If I wanted some new sandals and my mum said she couldn’t afford it, I’d tell her I’d buy them myself. My mum gave the best advice. She told me that you should buy a good pair of shoes and a decent bed because if you’re not in one, you’re in the other. Losing my daughter Caron was the saddest time in my life. When she finally lost her sevenyear battle with cancer, it took me to a depth of despair that I didn’t think was possible.

All feet are ugly – mine are no exception. Plus I’m only 5ft 2½in tall and would like to be taller. I’ve even been known to stand on a couple of phone books for photos.

My greatest fear is being put

in a care home. My husband Stephen and I have ring-fenced some money to make sure that when the time comes, we’ll be looked after at home. My guilty pleasure is rubbish TV. Sometimes I just want to sit down and watch something simple. My biggest regret is not moving to Australia when Caron was living there. Had I known how her story would work out, I would have moved there and spent all that time together. An unfulfilled ambition? To take three months to drive across the United States or Canada. l My Life, by Gloria Hunniford, is out now in paperback.