Under the microscope
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS?
YES, I can — I feel fitter now than I have for a while. For several years I’ve been working out two to three times a week and I play tennis for an hour each week. I used to play loads as a child and then I let it go, but I’ve been getting back into it. It’s something I can do with my kids, Emilia, who’s 14, and ten-year-old Lucas. I also use my local park to do weight training and a bit of running. I’m normally very consistent — I only slack when I’m touring.
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
USUALLY. I start my day with a fresh juice made from celery, beetroot, cucumber, and avocado. I did a juice diet two years ago, which involves just having juices and no solid food for a month and I lost 2st. My weight had crept up in my 30s and I realised I had to do something after seeing a tweet that suggested I had ‘eaten the snowman’. I now eat healthily Monday to Friday, but at the weekend I eat what I want and wash it down with wine because I don’t drink during the week. FOUR years ago I got a painful chest and throat infection that inflamed my vocal cords and it was the first time I really couldn’t sing. I had to cancel some concerts, sadly. Doctors put a camera through my nose to look at my vocal cords but they never pinpointed an exact cause. Now I take Sambucol, a liquid immune-boosting supplement, because it helps combat my paranoia that I’ll get ill on tour again. NINE years ago, I partially ruptured my Achilles tendon. I was on stage during the final dress rehearsal for my first pantomime, and another dancer’s heel went into my left ankle and the Achilles popped. It was horrendously painful. I went straight to hospital but luckily there was a tiny thread of tendon still attached, which grew back eventually. They put me in a cast, but that makes you more susceptible to deep vein thrombosis. Unfortunately, I got one after a few weeks and my leg started to swell. As a result, I was put on blood-thinning warfarin for three months. It took 16 weeks to learn to walk properly again.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I LOVE doing what I do so that helps me stay cheery and positive. I used to worry a lot, but I’m better at keeping things in check as I’ve got older.
WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
I’M A REALLY good sleeper unless I’ve drunk too much wine. My bedtime can vary a lot, but inevitably as soon as my head hits the pillow I’m out. When I did Daybreak, I had early mornings, around 4.15am. By Friday, I was a grumpy sod.
ANY PHOBIAS?
AS I’VE hit my 40s, I’ve found that I’m not keen on heights. I’m fine flying, but when I visited Berlin and went up their famous television tower, the Fernsehturm, my legs started shaking.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
IF I was healthy and had all my faculties, why not? I enjoy the life I lead, I’d love to be around for my kids and their kids.
ALED’S new album One Voice is out now on Classic FM/Decca