Talk show queen Feltz gets real...(FEATURES)

Byline: EMMA POMFRET

AS a woman who describes her personal life as "one hell of a rollercoaster ride", outspoken presenter Vanessa Feltz is well-qualified to relate to the extraordinary guests on her new ITV1 talk show, Vanessa's Real Lives.

"Not strictly through my own design, my personal life has been incredibly public, and so everybody thinks that they know me -- actually they probably do because I don't think that I've got any hidden depths that anyone doesn't know about," Vanessa says.

"I lost my mum when she was 57. Then my husband left which was just diabolical. I lost my show under very public and humiliating circumstances, not to mention having to start dating again when I didn't want to and certainly didn't think I'd have to at a ridiculously old age, which is pretty horrible," the 44-year-old adds.

"I'm not saying that I've lived through every-body's lives or experienced all of their traumas but I have got a few of the bases covered I think!"

The new show promises insights into the lives of ordinary people, covering a broad spectrum of human-interest stories from commitment issues and teenage alcoholism to spiritualism and euthanasia.

It's a comeback of sorts -- Vanessa formerly hosted a BBC daytime chat show but it was cancelled in 1996 when it was revealed that some guests were actors from an agency.

"Being a talk show host is a great job if you're interested in other people because you get to ask all these nosy questions that you could never ask in real life," explains the north London-based radio show host.

"The idea is that it's not about some great big family yelling, screaming and swearing at each other, and being bashed over the head by security guys!

"It's a programme that shows lots of amazing stories about people's real lives but which also offers a chance to actually think about them a bit, such as what makes a grandmother become a porn star at the age of 62, and what makes a mother assist her son in a form of euthanasia when he is dying of a terminal disease?"

Cambridge-educated Vanessa says she is not easily shocked, but admits the stories she has heard on her show have often left her heartbroken.

"Some people's stories are just so terribly sad -- the things that people endure are so completely appalling that you absolutely have to feel for them.

"But then you come out enormously admiring of the human spirit and people's incredible ability to bounce back, to soldier on, to find more love somewhere else -- people are just amazing," she says.

Vanessa believes the same intrinsic survival instinct has got her through the toughest times in her own life.

"I don't think that I've got a thick skin, I've survived because I've had to -- I've got two kids and there was no way that I could just pack up and die," she adds.

"When my husband left I didn't want to do that whole embittered, hating men thing, and I certainly didn't want to communicate that to my girls, no way -- I wanted to be happy again as soon as possible and that way to do that was to remain smiling and be nice.

"Nobody likes someone who is always whining and cursing the world -- it doesn't get you anywhere, nobody appreciates it," she continues.

Her advice to anyone in the same situation is to get back out into the real world as soon as possible.

"Some people say that you should mourn for years after a divorce but my policy was that if anyone asks me I'm out there!

"Actually I went out with somebody else seven weeks after my husband left, and it didn't work out but it was a great boost, knowing that a man could find me attractive again," she says.

Recently pictured leaving London's Park Lane Met Bar with her latest alleged toyboy squeeze, Ben Ofoedu -- formerly of the now-defunct house band Phats and Small -- Vanessa remains tight-lipped about the current status of her relationship with Dennis Duhaney, the personal trainer who was responsible for getting her down from a size 26 to a 12.

"Let's put it this way, there is a state of flux going on with Dennis and I at the moment, but I'm fine," she says, adding that Dennis is his "own man".

Despite her remarkably upbeat attitude about all other aspects of her life, Vanessa admits she still finds it difficult to cope with the constant attention to her weight.

"It's always in the papers -- I remember just having lunch with an old school friend and someone phoned my lawyer and said 'We've got the sushi pictures', and so he phoned me and I was like 'What was I doing? Inhaling it?"' she reveals.

"Honestly, it's ridiculous. I once bought a pair of knickers in a size 18 and even that made the papers."

Vanessa freely admits that her size isn't something that she has been afraid to talk publicly about -- she's made an appearance in Little Britain's Fat Fighters sketch and taken part in the second series of Celebrity Fit Club. But she says it's a step too far when strangers make hurtful comments to her face.

"People feel that it's part of a common currency to discuss my weight -- I am used to it after all these years but it's not great for me, I don't love it."

Vanessa's Real Lives starts on ITV1 on Monday December 4.

Talk show queen Feltz gets real...(FEATURES)

Byline: EMMA POMFRET

AS a woman who describes her personal life as "one hell of a rollercoaster ride", outspoken presenter Vanessa Feltz is well-qualified to relate to the extraordinary guests on her new ITV1 talk show, Vanessa's Real Lives.

"Not strictly through my own design, my personal life has been incredibly public, and so everybody thinks that they know me -- actually they probably do because I don't think that I've got any hidden depths that anyone doesn't know about," Vanessa says.

"I lost my mum when she was 57. Then my husband left which was just diabolical. I lost my show under very public and humiliating circumstances, not to mention having to start dating again when I didn't want to and certainly didn't think I'd have to at a ridiculously old age, which is pretty horrible," the 44-year-old adds.

"I'm not saying that I've lived through every-body's lives or experienced all of their traumas but I have got a few of the bases covered I think!"

The new show promises insights into the lives of ordinary people, covering a broad spectrum of human-interest stories from commitment issues and teenage alcoholism to spiritualism and euthanasia.

It's a comeback of sorts -- Vanessa formerly hosted a BBC daytime chat show but it was cancelled in 1996 when it was revealed that some guests were actors from an agency.

"Being a talk show host is a great job if you're interested in other people because you get to ask all these nosy questions that you could never ask in real life," explains the north London-based radio show host.

"The idea is that it's not about some great big family yelling, screaming and swearing at each other, and being bashed over the head by security guys!

"It's a programme that shows lots of amazing stories about people's real lives but which also offers a chance to actually think about them a bit, such as what makes a grandmother become a porn star at the age of 62, and what makes a mother assist her son in a form of euthanasia when he is dying of a terminal disease?"

Cambridge-educated Vanessa says she is not easily shocked, but admits the stories she has heard on her show have often left her heartbroken.

"Some people's stories are just so terribly sad -- the things that people endure are so completely appalling that you absolutely have to feel for them.

"But then you come out enormously admiring of the human spirit and people's incredible ability to bounce back, to soldier on, to find more love somewhere else -- people are just amazing," she says.

Vanessa believes the same intrinsic survival instinct has got her through the toughest times in her own life.

"I don't think that I've got a thick skin, I've survived because I've had to -- I've got two kids and there was no way that I could just pack up and die," she adds.

"When my husband left I didn't want to do that whole embittered, hating men thing, and I certainly didn't want to communicate that to my girls, no way -- I wanted to be happy again as soon as possible and that way to do that was to remain smiling and be nice.

"Nobody likes someone who is always whining and cursing the world -- it doesn't get you anywhere, nobody appreciates it," she continues.

Her advice to anyone in the same situation is to get back out into the real world as soon as possible.

"Some people say that you should mourn for years after a divorce but my policy was that if anyone asks me I'm out there!

"Actually I went out with somebody else seven weeks after my husband left, and it didn't work out but it was a great boost, knowing that a man could find me attractive again," she says.

Recently pictured leaving London's Park Lane Met Bar with her latest alleged toyboy squeeze, Ben Ofoedu -- formerly of the now-defunct house band Phats and Small -- Vanessa remains tight-lipped about the current status of her relationship with Dennis Duhaney, the personal trainer who was responsible for getting her down from a size 26 to a 12.

"Let's put it this way, there is a state of flux going on with Dennis and I at the moment, but I'm fine," she says, adding that Dennis is his "own man".

Despite her remarkably upbeat attitude about all other aspects of her life, Vanessa admits she still finds it difficult to cope with the constant attention to her weight.

"It's always in the papers -- I remember just having lunch with an old school friend and someone phoned my lawyer and said 'We've got the sushi pictures', and so he phoned me and I was like 'What was I doing? Inhaling it?"' she reveals.

"Honestly, it's ridiculous. I once bought a pair of knickers in a size 18 and even that made the papers."

Vanessa freely admits that her size isn't something that she has been afraid to talk publicly about -- she's made an appearance in Little Britain's Fat Fighters sketch and taken part in the second series of Celebrity Fit Club. But she says it's a step too far when strangers make hurtful comments to her face.

"People feel that it's part of a common currency to discuss my weight -- I am used to it after all these years but it's not great for me, I don't love it."

Vanessa's Real Lives starts on ITV1 on Monday December 4.

Talk show queen Feltz gets real...(FEATURES)

Byline: EMMA POMFRET

AS a woman who describes her personal life as "one hell of a rollercoaster ride", outspoken presenter Vanessa Feltz is well-qualified to relate to the extraordinary guests on her new ITV1 talk show, Vanessa's Real Lives.

"Not strictly through my own design, my personal life has been incredibly public, and so everybody thinks that they know me -- actually they probably do because I don't think that I've got any hidden depths that anyone doesn't know about," Vanessa says.

"I lost my mum when she was 57. Then my husband left which was just diabolical. I lost my show under very public and humiliating circumstances, not to mention having to start dating again when I didn't want to and certainly didn't think I'd have to at a ridiculously old age, which is pretty horrible," the 44-year-old adds.

"I'm not saying that I've lived through every-body's lives or experienced all of their traumas but I have got a few of the bases covered I think!"

The new show promises insights into the lives of ordinary people, covering a broad spectrum of human-interest stories from commitment issues and teenage alcoholism to spiritualism and euthanasia.

It's a comeback of sorts -- Vanessa formerly hosted a BBC daytime chat show but it was cancelled in 1996 when it was revealed that some guests were actors from an agency.

"Being a talk show host is a great job if you're interested in other people because you get to ask all these nosy questions that you could never ask in real life," explains the north London-based radio show host.

"The idea is that it's not about some great big family yelling, screaming and swearing at each other, and being bashed over the head by security guys!

"It's a programme that shows lots of amazing stories about people's real lives but which also offers a chance to actually think about them a bit, such as what makes a grandmother become a porn star at the age of 62, and what makes a mother assist her son in a form of euthanasia when he is dying of a terminal disease?"

Cambridge-educated Vanessa says she is not easily shocked, but admits the stories she has heard on her show have often left her heartbroken.

"Some people's stories are just so terribly sad -- the things that people endure are so completely appalling that you absolutely have to feel for them.

"But then you come out enormously admiring of the human spirit and people's incredible ability to bounce back, to soldier on, to find more love somewhere else -- people are just amazing," she says.

Vanessa believes the same intrinsic survival instinct has got her through the toughest times in her own life.

"I don't think that I've got a thick skin, I've survived because I've had to -- I've got two kids and there was no way that I could just pack up and die," she adds.

"When my husband left I didn't want to do that whole embittered, hating men thing, and I certainly didn't want to communicate that to my girls, no way -- I wanted to be happy again as soon as possible and that way to do that was to remain smiling and be nice.

"Nobody likes someone who is always whining and cursing the world -- it doesn't get you anywhere, nobody appreciates it," she continues.

Her advice to anyone in the same situation is to get back out into the real world as soon as possible.

"Some people say that you should mourn for years after a divorce but my policy was that if anyone asks me I'm out there!

"Actually I went out with somebody else seven weeks after my husband left, and it didn't work out but it was a great boost, knowing that a man could find me attractive again," she says.

Recently pictured leaving London's Park Lane Met Bar with her latest alleged toyboy squeeze, Ben Ofoedu -- formerly of the now-defunct house band Phats and Small -- Vanessa remains tight-lipped about the current status of her relationship with Dennis Duhaney, the personal trainer who was responsible for getting her down from a size 26 to a 12.

"Let's put it this way, there is a state of flux going on with Dennis and I at the moment, but I'm fine," she says, adding that Dennis is his "own man".

Despite her remarkably upbeat attitude about all other aspects of her life, Vanessa admits she still finds it difficult to cope with the constant attention to her weight.

"It's always in the papers -- I remember just having lunch with an old school friend and someone phoned my lawyer and said 'We've got the sushi pictures', and so he phoned me and I was like 'What was I doing? Inhaling it?"' she reveals.

"Honestly, it's ridiculous. I once bought a pair of knickers in a size 18 and even that made the papers."

Vanessa freely admits that her size isn't something that she has been afraid to talk publicly about -- she's made an appearance in Little Britain's Fat Fighters sketch and taken part in the second series of Celebrity Fit Club. But she says it's a step too far when strangers make hurtful comments to her face.

"People feel that it's part of a common currency to discuss my weight -- I am used to it after all these years but it's not great for me, I don't love it."

Vanessa's Real Lives starts on ITV1 on Monday December 4.