When I was seven...

I had a No.1 hit single with Grandma (We Love You) as I was in St Winifred's School Choir. It was a mad time for a seven-year-old, ending up with us on Christmas Top of the Pops. Amazing times.

The first time my heart was broken ...

I had an allergy test at the age of eight as I had just been diagnosed with asthma. It turned out that I was allergic to animals. I had to say goodbye to our pet dog Charlie, whom I adored.

The wisest thing my grandmother told me ...

That luck is what you make it. She was an amazing woman who worked all her life and kept the family strong with her sharp wit and warm personality. She was a strong believer in hard work and we were all devastated by her death from Alzheimer's at 70. I still think about her every day.

The biggest adversity I have overcome ...

I've never previously experienced the absolute lack of sleep that I had when my twins, Vic and Louie, were first born. I can't remember much of what happened for the first eight weeks, we just got through it. They both needed fed every two hours and weren't feeding together. I was sleeping two to three hours a day. It's not an adversity as such, but it's the biggest shock to the system I've ever had to deal with. It was the most wonderful time, but also the toughest.

My motto for life ...

Thank your lucky stars. I thank the universe every day for my children, my step children, my partner and the fact that our health is good. We forget in this country how lucky we are with running clean water, electricity and the National Health Service. Since I've had my sons, who are now two, trivial things bother me so much less than they did.

My soul mate is ...

My husband-to-be Steve White. I love him and I love being with him. Our relationship has got so much stronger as the years have gone by.

Not many people know that ...

I can do the splits. Steve knows when I've had one too many when I start doing the splits at a party – and gets me in a cab.

The most inspiring book I've read was ...

When I was a kid, my grandfather read me A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. To this day it's still my most influential book. It's such a wonderful story about redemption, selflessness, love, good and bad, the effect we have on other people and karma – a brilliant moral tale. It never bores me.

What I look for in a friend is ...

I have the most amazing set of friends and call them up all the time for advice and a gossip. I still have friends from school and I'm lucky to have very close friends in the industry too.

I believe the secret to a strong relationship is ...

I don't know if there's any secret, it's down to the couple. An important factor is compromise. People are bound to be different – or you would be going out with yourself. Compromise for the greater good of the relationship, not so you lose sight of yourself.

Something I wish I'd done earlier ...

Discovered spray tans. The years I've tried to contort myself into a position for full coverage so I don't look see-through on telly.

My childhood hero was ...

When I was 11 or 12 it was Victoria Wood. She was prominent on the telly and I thought she was wonderful. I thought it was amazing she could make people laugh. I met her when we were on the Paul O'Grady show together. I was nervous but she was lovely. I was so chuffed she knew my name.

The place I most like to call home ...

I have two homes which is terribly fortunate as one is in London and the other in Manchester as I work in both places. It can be confusing at times.

Sally Lindsay presents All Star Christmas Presents on Sky 1 HD, Sunday, 6pm