Published: 11 June 2011
DJ and TV presenter Zoe Ball:
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again...My diamond engagement ring, which Norman [DJ Norman Cook] gave me in 1999. I was too scared to wear it because I’m so scatty, so I hid it in a drawer. Either Norman or I re-hid it and we’ve never found it. I fear it has been given to a charity shop in an old handbag.
The unending quest that drives you on...To be better at backgammon. Everyone beats me, but one day I’ll show them!
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions...Wake up at Babington House, the hotel in Somerset where we got married, as a big family bundle in our PJs. Full English breakfast in bed watching Sky’s Soccer AM. Go to the beach at Nantucket, New England, for seal spotting and rounders. Clam chowder and crab for lunch, followed by a bike ride along Brighton seafront before shopping in New York. Dinner at Nobu in Mayfair, then a wander through Paris before hitting Space nightclub in Ibiza with Norm and Carl Cox DJing. Then we’d sit around the Stone Circle at Glastonbury Festival watching the sunrise.
The temptation you wish you could resist...Puddings. I wish I was slimmer, but cheesecake, crumble and custard, panna cotta… I love ’em all!
The book that holds an everlasting resonance...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the perfect novel. It is desperately tragic. I’ve read it many times, but it still brings a tear to my eye.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Woman for a day...I’d listen to my ten-year-old-son Woody and his friends chat. Such amazing minds, untainted by the toil of work and responsibility.
The way fame and fortune has changed you, for better and worse...I’m still the same old fool I was at school. I love my job and can’t think of many negatives, apart from the paranoia about my looks ageing by the second.
The film you can watch time and time again...What’s Up Doc with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal. It’s hilarious and I’ll never tire of it.
The person who has influenced you most...My Grandad Fred. He was the warmest, funniest man. He was a wonderful husband to my Nan, Rene, a loving father, and the best grandad a girl could wish for. I wish he could have met Nelly, our one-year-old. But I’m sure he is dancing in the stars with Nan.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint...Bette Davis. She could act the socks off anybody. I’d grill her about old Hollywood and her nemesis Joan Crawford.
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child...You give a little love and it all comes back to you.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity...Lego building. I’d happily do it for hours with Woody – usually to avoid cooking or paperwork – and I’m pretty good. I find it therapeutic. My Lego Death Star is a thing of beauty
The prized possession you value above all others...My half-read books. I fall asleep at night after reading a passage. I intend to finish them all one day.
The unqualified regret you wish you could amend...I don’t have regrets, life is too short. You have to think about the positives and move forward.
The poem that touches your soul...On The Ning Nang Nong by Spike Milligan. It is nonsense, but I loved it when I was a child and my kids love it, too.
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase...That I’ll be the best dancer at a wedding, just because I did Strictly Come Dancing. Without my partner Ian Waite, I’m all at sea and all I can do is ‘Mum Dancing’.
The event that altered the course of your life and character...Becoming a mum. There is no greater joy than watching your children grow, learn and laugh.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it...I’d drive my car at full pelt down the M23 on the way home from work.
The song that means most to you...Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes. Nelly has learnt the actions and it’s too cute.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever...I have been spoilt for happy memories in my life. To me, all little family moments are priceless.
The saddest time that shook your world...Losing my best friend Jolanda in a car accident when she was 17. Only now, as a mother, can I appreciate how her death affected her parents. The kids and I always say goodnight to Jolanda in the stars. I’m not religious but I like to believe she’s up there watching out for my kids.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you...To finish my English degree. I dropped out of university to work, but I’m hoping to do it one day.
The philosophy underpinning your life...All you need is Love. Love is all you need.
The order of service at your funeral...If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out by Cat Stevens and Happy Feet by Kermit The Frog. Then everyone singing Eric and Ernie’s Bring Me Sunshine. Tears acceptable, dancing compulsory.
The way you want to be remembered...As a daft but loving mother who tangoed ’til the end.
The plug...Zoe Ball presents the Isle of Wight Festival on Sky Arts and Sky 3D, today at 10pm and tomorrow at 9pm. Visit www.sky.com/arts.
Copyright: Rob McGibbon/Accessinterviews.com 2011 (2014). All rights reserved