Why Cookham? 

We wanted to move out of London to bring up a family, but were both 

still working there full-time when we moved, so we needed to be within 

commuting distance. We looked at all the transport links and then 

literally stuck a pin in a map, 'wandered' around Cookham on Google 

Streetview, crossed our fingers and rented a cottage here. Turns out we 

were incredibly lucky to have found such a fantastic place that we hope 

will be home for many years. 

 

Tell us about your career...

After graduating I did a postgrad journalism qualification at Cardiff 

University before going on to work as a reporter on a local newspaper
in my hometown of Birmingham. I then moved to Bristol to work for a 

national press agency before heading south to London, where I worked 

freelance in the newsroom at GMTV and then landed a job on the 

celebrity desk at Reveal magazine. I worked my way through the ranks 

to Celebrity Editor before going freelance two years ago. I now have a 

pretty varied career. I work in-house as Editor of Exclusive magazine 

three days a week, and spend the rest of my time doing all sorts; 

shifting as a commissioning editor at the Daily Mail, working as a media 

consultant with PR companies, corporate copywriting and working with 

major publishers on brand relaunches. I love the variety.

 

Why do you love journalism so much?

I find people endlessly fascinating and being a journalist allows me to 

talk to ordinary people who do extraordinary things, which is always 

pretty humbling. Every day is different and I've had access to worlds 

that I never would have been able to experience otherwise. An old tutor 

of mine once said that you'll never be rich being a journalist, but you'll 

get to live a rich person's life. He was right!

 

You fell into the world of showbiz... who were among the best 

celebs you met? 

It was often the ones you least expected who turned out to be the nicest 

and most fun, and vice versa. A-listers like Will Smith, George Clooney, 

Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise were lovely and consummate 

professionals, while a lot of reality stars and z-listers had a habit of 

being difficult. Kylie was lovely, if rather guarded, Alan Carr was such a 

scream, just as you would expect, while Cate Blanchett is one of the 

most beautiful women I've ever seen in the flesh! 

 

What are among the best events you've been to as a journalist?

I've been very lucky to be able to go to some pretty amazing showbiz 

events; the BRITs, the NTAs, the BAFTAs, the MTV Europe Music 

Awards, the NME Awards, as well as lots of film premieres and launch 

parties. But it's the afterparties where the fun really started, and the 

ones that I couldn't get a ticket to, but managed to sneak in, were 

invariably the most raucous. I remember covering the NTAs at the 

Royal Albert Hall one year. The afterparty was in a separate building 

next door and I didn't have a ticket. I desperately needed to get a story, 

so I did a circuit of the outside of the building before spotting a group of 

smokers out the back. I wondered up to them, followed them innocently 

back inside on the off-chance, up a staircase, and realised I was stood 

right in the middle of the party surrounded by a lot of extremely drunk 

TV stars. I couldn't believe my luck and it ended being a fun night!    

 

You now work for Exclusive magazines, tell us about that...

Exclusive is a glossy monthly lifestyle magazine with regional issues
in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey and London.
The office is in Chesham and I'm editor of the full portfolio – which
is pretty full on! The magazine is free and can be picked up in cafes,
restaurants, salons, health clubs, selected Waitrose stores, or you
can flick through the digital issues on the website. We have a relatively
small and busy team and, for me, it's been a fantastic way to really
get to know the area.

 

What's it like being able to review the best local restaurants and 

meet such a diverse range of people?

It's obviously great and I feel extremely lucky. I went on a press trip to a 

five-star hotel near Cannes last spring, where I went shopping for fresh 

ingredients in the local market with their Michelin-starred chef one 

morning before chatting with him in the kitchen while he – seemingly 

effortlessly – created the most amazing tasting menu for me. It's a 

cliche, but I really had to pinch myself; I felt so fortunate. 

 

Who is your idol? Who inspires you?

I've been lucky enough to work with and for some great journalists and 

editors over the years. While the big name columnists tend to get all the 

glory, it's the hugely talented journalists and commissioning editors 

slogging away in the newsrooms behind the scenes that I admire. 

 

What's the funniest thing that's ever
happened to you as a journalist?

I was in the VIP area at V Festival one year, having enjoyed the 

hospitality throughout the day(!) when I spotted actor Dexter Fletcher of 

Band of Brothers and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells fame, who 

I love. So I proceeded to chew his ear off about how, watching him in 

80s kids' TV show Press Gang inspired me to become a journalist 

(which may have been exaggerating the truth just a little!), and we had a 

little boogie together in the middle of the campsite!  

 

When all the hard work and socialising for your job is over, how do 

you like to chill out? 

I play netball in a league in High Wycombe. Today (Sunday) I'm actually 

playing in a Media v Sky Sports match at The Copperbox at the Olympic 

Park before the England v Australia match, which I'm ridiculously 

excited about! I also love cycling along the river up to Windsor and 

wandering along the river to The Bounty for a pint of their special 

homebrewed cider.

 

Tell us about the ball you helped to organise for Longridge...

My good friend Simon Branney saw a TV report on the damage 

Longridge Activity Centre in Marlow suffered in the recent flooding and 

felt compelled to help. So we, and a team of three others from Marlow 

and High Wycombe, organised a fundraising black-tie dinner at the 

Compleat Angler. We raised nearly £10k to help flood-proof the 

Longridge site. 

 

What are your aspirations for the future?

Career-wise I want to continue writing, editing and being challenged.
I also have a real passion for interior design and I'd love to do more in 

that field. Away from work I'd like to do more travelling before kids come 

along and I've just got engaged, so I have a wedding to plan! 

 

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