tesco.com/living Tesco magazine <#R#><#L#> Tesco magazine

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xxxx

xx

exclusive

She’s the Countdown queen who’s become a government advisor, and, at 51, is fit and fabulous – but that doesn’t stop people from having a pop at her dress sense. Here Carol answers her critics

Carol Vorderman arrives at the Tesco magazine shoot and immediately starts gossiping with the crew, squealing with delight as she looks at the clothes our stylist shows

her. She’s very pretty, with big brown eyes and, refreshingly, laughter lines. She’s also incredibly slim. Later, as she dances along to the radio, she looks happy and relaxed, and it’s clear she’s feeling good. When we ask her about the criticism that’s been levelled at her in the press recently, suggesting she isn’t ‘dressing her age’, she laughs.‘People always have such strong opinions on my clothes, but this is me, this is how I dress, and I’ll wear what I like.’My look is a bit like Marmite, people either love it or hate it. They say ‘oh that’s too tight’, or ‘she’s wearing Spanx pants’ – but I’m not. I usually go commando. I don’t think I dress too young, and I don’t try to compete with my daughter at all, as some people think. But I am more confident now

‘I’ll wear what I like’Photographs John Rowley Styling Phil Tarling

Carol Vorderman bites back

about the way that I look than I was in my thirties. I still do my annual detox in January and it helps me stay slim. I know that some nutritionists don’t agree with it, but it seems to work for me.I’ve been doing my fair share of retoxing recently as well – eating and drinking too much, not getting enough sleep. I love going out partying and didn’t do much of it when the kids were small. But now they’re older I can. And my children are delightful young people. Cameron is 14, and he sent me a text today saying ‘I love you with all my heart and a half’. Katie is 20, and she’s happy, confident and generous. So I can tick a great big box and think ‘I haven’t done badly as a single parent’.I’ve always had a lot of support from my mum, and until I was 10, she was a single parent, too. It isn’t easy, and I’d recommend that if you can have two parents there all the time, you should do it. But it didn’t happen with me. ➻

tesco.com/living<#L#> Tesco magazine

Wo

rd

S l

iz j

ar

vis

PH

oto

gr

aP

HS

(p

rev

iou

s pa

ge)

Ha

ir &

Ma

ke

-uP

ian

mc

into

sh; j

am

es m

cm

ah

on

pho

togr

aphe

d at

th

e a

then

aeum

hot

el, 1

16 p

icca

dilly

, lon

don

W1j

2B

j (0

20 7

499

3464

, ath

enae

umho

tel.c

om);

(th

is p

ag

e) g

etty

; Ba

rc

ro

ft m

edia

exclusive

Watch online See Carol’s video interview and vote for which of her dresses you like the most

at tesco.com/living

If you grow up in a single parent family, your norm is to think ‘I’ll end up divorced’, rather than ‘when I get married it’s forever’, because it’s your only experience.I didn’t see my father when I was growing up, but I didn’t know any different. It was when I was a bit older that I became very angry about it all. It gives you a different mind-set, too. I’ve grown up independent to the point of stubbornness, but at least I know what I want, and what I don’t.Money was very tight for the first 10 years of my life. Mum had four part-time jobs and we lived in a little two-bedroom flat in Prestatyn, north Wales. My brother had one bedroom, and

then there were four of us in the other – me, my mum, my cousin Pam and sister Trixie. I grew up on fish and chips, and wore hand-me-downs. When I was four, Mum gave me a teddy bear called Bungee. She could only afford him because he had an ear missing and was reduced. I’ve still got him. So money and materialism aren’t important to me. If I’ve got money I’ll spend some, but if I don’t have it, then I don’t spend it. The security it brings is what matters.I’ve been very fortunate my career has given me that security. Right now I’m working on Loose Women. It’s a great mix of people – they really make me laugh, particularly Denise Welch and Carol McGiffin.

I’ve also been producing a maths and education report for Education Secretary Michael Gove, which has received a lot of attention. We’ve recommended kids study maths until 18, because the current system is failing young people. Being able to help children to achieve is incredibly rewarding. I really wanted to help kids ’get’ maths, which is why I set up my website, themathsfactor.com. We’ve had a massive response from parents – such as emails saying ‘my child was struggling with maths, and now they’ve moved to the top set’. It’s amazing, because when kids understand maths, the world’s their oyster.

Left Carol feels more confident about her figure now than she did in her thirties

Top right in one of the outfits that caused controversy in the press

Right Full-on glamour as Carol walks the red carpet