I�ve been vegetarian for �virtually all of my adult life and I do adopt a very strict health regime.

I've been vegetarian for virtually all of my adult life and I do adopt a very strict health regime. I don't drink and I've never smoked - I believe smoking is a great destroyer of just about everything, particularly the voice and the skin.

I also eat very little; to be honest, I think we all eat far too much. I never have cakes or biscuits. I don't have a sweet tooth at all and I can't stand chocolates - I find them so sickly. However, I will buy cakes if I'm expecting company. I also try my best to stay away from wheat and dairy produce, which can be tricky when I'm on tour. I manage to make do with what I can find in health-food stores and made-up salads.

When eating out while on tour, a great place to get vegetarian food is Thai restaurants, as they have lots of options. I absolutely adore salad and vegetables - I will eat salad until it's coming out of my ears. Although I think it's great in any form, my particular favourite has to be beetroot salad. I'm mad about it. I would also go miles for watercress.

I never drink cow's milk; I always opt for the soya alternative, and when I eat most dairy products it tends to be in extremely small doses. However, being a vegetarian means I have to get protein from somewhere, so I do eat eggs and cheese about once a week. The eggs I eat must be free range - and if it doesn't say they are, I won't eat them. I don't want to be a part of the monstrous battery-hen way of life. I believe in treating fellow creatures of this planet with some sort of respect, and I think it's lovely to see happy hens wandering around looking healthy and glorious. I live in Somerset and I'm surrounded by people who keep their own chickens, so I can get beautiful eggs that taste wonderful.

Fortunately, people have become much more tolerant of vegetarianism in recent years; it is much better catered for now. I will cook meat for others as long as it has been properly farmed, although I don't like doing it. I prefer to see chickens and pheasants flying around.

I don't take supplements of any kind: I think one should be able to get all their vitamins and minerals from their food. Not even if I get a cold will I take anything, although colds can happen a lot when you're on tour - as soon as one person catches it, everyone comes down with it. Instead I'll have something that is high in vitamin C, such as red and yellow peppers. I've got three apple orchards at home so I can make fresh apple juice - although I'm not that keen on fruit, apart from red grape juice. I was told it was full of antioxidants and decided to try it, and I became absolutely addicted.

My main source of exercise is walking. I can walk for miles. I also do some dance exercises when I have the time.

Perhaps I'm a bit of a bore because I don't drink or smoke - but quite frankly it's what keeps me healthy.

Kate O'Mara is in An Ideal Husband at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, November 10-15.