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SOUL searching jenny colgan susan swarbrick
I had it all figured out. I would be a nun during the day (it was a very Catholic school) – and I would write books at night to keep the convent going. My mother kept the essay and my brother read it out at my wedding. I have just about forgiven them.
The first time my heart was broken ...
When I was 15, I spent three hours waiting for a boy who stood me up. Never do that – 20 minutes, tops.
The wisest thing my grandmother told me ...
Unfortunately, both my grandmothers gave terrible advice. One was "never watch kissing on television" and the other said "if you don't eat that mince I'm reheating it tomorrow until you do".
The biggest adversity I have overcome ...
Same as anyone in the creative industries: "No. No. No. No. No. No. No." Then, finally: "Yeah, alright." Also nothing I've done in my life, including childbirth, has ever been harder than getting through secondary school.
My motto for life ...
You have to get in the game. If it goes wrong, you can fix it later. The unhappiest lives I know are people who just sit around waiting for something to happen, or people who are too scared of making an idiot of themselves. You have to try. Of course, you fail. Then the next time, you fail better. Eventually, you get the hang of it. Nobody really cares if you make an idiot of yourself, everyone's far too busy being terrified of making an idiot of themselves.
My soul mate is ...
I don't believe in soul mates. I think people searching for a soul mate has caused them to pass up lots of perfectly decent blokes and girls they could have built perfectly happy lives with in search of some unachievable nonsense.
Not many people know that ...
I'm constantly trying and failing to get a grip on mathematics. I'll read any maths for idiots book out there. I was good at it at school and wish I'd taken it further.
What I look for in a friend is ...
The same as in any close relationship: do they make you laugh? Will they be there for you? Are you simpatico? I remember meeting my great friend Anna at the opening meeting of a college course. Someone said something totally stupid and everyone else was nodding and agreeing and we just caught each other's eye and I knew straight away we would be friends.
The person I ring first when I'm upset is ...
My husband Andrew: first, last, always.
I believe the secret to a strong relationship is ...
I like it to be a "being nice to each other competition". I genuinely just try and be really nice to him. He's really nice to me too. I know loads of couples nip at each other and are still totally happy, but that's very foreign to me.
Something I wish I'd done earlier ...
Stopped thinking I was hideously ugly and enjoyed my figure more before the kids.
My all-time favourite YouTube clip ...
This is a bit embarrassing, but I do love that clip from Eurovision where they do Riverdance for the first time. It's just distilled joy: they know how good they are, but no-one else does, then that second row of dancers arrives and the place just blows up. Then the roar at the end as the audience leaps to its feet.
My childhood hero was ...
Doctor Who, of course. I can't remember ever not watching Doctor Who, it was just always there. I didn't hide behind the sofa, I always wanted to be on the Tardis.
The place I most like to call home ...
We travel a lot because my husband works on boats, so wherever we are all five of us together – myself, Andrew and our children Wallace, seven, Francis, four, and Delphine, three – is officially home.
Doctor Who: Dark Horizons by JT Colgan is published by BBC Books on Saturday, priced £12.99
