Sophie Ellis-Bextor

“Getting up to dance to your own stuff looks pretty pretentious. And leaving the dancefloor when it comes on is just awkward.”

“I think there's quite a lot of cowardice in music. I don't mind if it goes wrong, I just want to go for it.”

“Also, I think women really come into their own in their 30s.”

“I try not to wear anything I have to fidget with - there's nothing worse than wearing something and pulling down the hem and re-adjusting the top. My pet hate is when girls wear those strapless dresses and spend the whole night yanking them up.”

“I can definitely tell when mum has got money because then she likes to go shopping to spend it, whereas dad is steadier and avoids splurges. I like to think I've inherited both sides.”

“Philately is normally a boys' hobby but for some reason it was in vogue at my junior school. Between the ages of eight and ten I collected avidly. I'd pore over my Stanley Gibbons book, obsessively checking my collection's value. I always hoped I'd stumble across a really valuable one, a Penny Black or an Inverted Jenny, but it wasn't to be.”

“I'm someone who has always been quite clear about what I like. In the studio, I'm not a control freak but I know what I want.”

“But I quite like that the public has a very short attention span. If I haven't been on telly for a little bit, I can sense it. People don't take as much notice of you, it's really quite palpable.”

“I'm all for consumer rights. I get very aggravated if I don't get a good service.”

“I like the influence of the macabre, but I don't believe in ghosts.”