It's My Burning Ambition To Meet The Queen!

Kirstie Allsopp on her relationship and what she still wants to achieve in life...

- Rachel Corcoran

Since bursting on to our screens 18 years ago with her sidekick Phil Spencer, Kirstie allsopp has marked herself out as one of Britain’s most no-nonsense stars. The 45-year-old never shies away from difficult topics and her views have occasionally set social media ablaze. Kirstie splits her time between west London and Devon where she lives with her partner Ben Andersen and their sons Bay, 10, and Oscar, eight, as well as his two sons from his previous relationship. Here she tells us why all women should be able to cook and why she puts her partner first.

‘I was confused as a kid. I wasn’t happy at school and mum always thought it was the other children, so I moved school a lot. But, in fact, it was that I was quite different and children don’t like difference. I was quite a grown-up kid. One of the worst phrases in the English language is ‘try hard’. Of course you try hard; you try to make your house look nice, you cook or dress well and work hard. Had I not been dyslexic and come from a family where academics were more highly regarded then I might have found a purpose at school. It was only when I started work that I was much happier – I could throw myself in to something.’