I do drink, but not very much. I love red wine with my dinner because I’m a big meat eater. I also enjoy a glass of champagne at parties.

You must have needed a clear head in the mornings when you were presenting the lunchtime chat show Today with Des and Mel?

Yes, but then I’m not the sort of person who drinks to get drunk anyway. I’m more an everything-in-moderation sort.

As a former model, are you confident about your looks?

When I’m wearing make-up I’m quite happy with myself, yes. Do I feel attractive, though? I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.

Still, don’t you think many people will find it irritating that you have just written a book on how to look attractive when you’re pregnant?

Most pregnancy books are about health, and how your baby will look at 12 weeks. There is nothing that focuses on you. When I was pregnant in 2004 with my second child, Valentino — my first, Roman, was born in 2002 — I got letters from Today with Des and Mel viewers asking how I managed to look so good. I thought, wow, there is a market for this kind of thing.

Aren’t expectant mothers under enough pressure?

This book is by no means a regime. I didn’t put myself on one and would never dream of pushing one on anyone else. It is just manageable stuff, such as giving yourself a manicure once a week.

Were your pregnancies a breeze?

No, I hate being pregnant, it is something I endure. I suffer depression, I get acne and I become overweight. According to my obstetrician, most women don’t have pregnancies as bad as mine.

Are you high-maintenance?

No, not at all. There are other things that are more important. On the whole, I’m happy in my own skin. Apart from days when I’m premenstrual.

Would you ever consider a nip’n’tuck?

No. I think plastic surgery is quite ugly. I’d quite like to look like me for the rest of my life.

Embracing the ageing process?

Wholeheartedly. It’s natural. I’m not old yet, but even when my eyes have become saggy it will all be me. I’ll just have to deal with it.

Apart from giving birth, have you ever been in hospital? Only when I had my wisdom teeth out.

You’ve always been healthy?

I used to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, which is not very healthy. I quit when I was 30 just through sheer willpower.

Did you give up to get pregnant?

No. It was two years before I had even thought about wanting to have children.

Are you as sound of mind as you are of body?

Yes. I’ve had therapy only once, after Valentino’s birth. I nearly died during the operation because my placenta was embedded in the wall of my womb and when it was removed it left gaping holes that wouldn’t stop bleeding. I lost six pints of blood and had post- traumatic stress. I went to see a therapist for seven months to help me to get over it.

Would you recommend it?

Yes, it was hugely successful.

What is your biggest health fear?

Breast cancer. It doesn’t keep me up at night, but I check my breasts regularly.

Is there a family history?

I don’t want to talk about that.

What about diet? You’re a Mancunian and northerners aren’t known for their love of salads.

I love food, full stop. Some days I’ll fancy steamed vegetables, other days a kebab. The only thing I’ll do is cut out desserts for a week or so if I put on a bit of weight.

Ever work it off in the gym?

I go running three times a week and exercise at home. I have a personal trainer who comes every few months to show me routines for weights and my exercise ball. I do it when the children are in bed.

Do you have a taste for anything alternative?

I see an osteopath for my back, which gets out of sync from carrying my children on my hip. He uses acupuncture, too, to release the tension. I also have a massage to relax and a facial once a month.

What was the best advice you received when pregnant?

I didn’t receive any, but what I learnt was that you have to stay in the moment. You can start to worry about all sorts of things, particularly with your second child. For instance: will they bond with their sibling? How will I be able to split myself between them? But you are under enough pressure just being pregnant.

Blooming Beautiful, by Melanie Sykes and Hilary Boyd (Michael Joseph, £12.99).

Melanie Skyes co-presents the A-List Chart Show on Sunday, 4pm-7pm, on Heart, Real Radio and Century FM

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