What is your favourite place in Sussex?

That’s hard, there are various pockets of paradise. I love the undercliff path from Saltdean to the Marina, how the sea manages to look different each day. I love Kemptown’s flea markets and coffee shops. I love the winding road from Beachy Head to Burling Gap, with its glimpses of sea, the curves of the road and the jutting white cliffs.

What do you love most about living in Sussex?

The way anything goes. From faded seaside glamour amongst the iconic i360, to transvestites nestled next to foreign students on the bus, (not that you can’t be both of course). Brighton always makes me feel that I can do and be anything. No one bats an eyelid at anyone here. It’s a beautiful thing.

What advice do you have for your 12-year-old self?

Don’t worry that you don’t fit in, don’t even bother trying. 
Don’t be scared to say no or let people down. 
Don’t bother straightening your hair, it looks better curly and you’ll only knacker the ends, in fact those dreadlocks you plan on getting when you are 17 will look even worse, but no one will tell you till you that till you take them out a year later. 
Don’t attempt waitress work, you’ll be fired within an hour. 
Learn to love yourself or no one else ever can.

What is your most valued possession?

My great grandad’s armchair. He was in the trenches in France in the first world war. As I kid I used to sit by his feet and help him shell peas. Now his chair sits by my fire. I sit in it and wish I’d been old enough to realise I was sitting beside my biggest hero.

What is your biggest regret?

Not getting help for my anxiety sooner. I didn’t even realise there was something wrong with me till it got so bad I could not leave the house. It ate up ten years of my life that I can never get back.

What is your biggest fear?

Being normal.

What is your proudest achievement?

My three daughters. I cannot believe I created such strength, beauty and wonder.

Which five people (living or dead) would you invite to a dinner party?

Chew Bacca, Joey Ramone, Maya Angelou, Daryl Dixon and Maurice Abrahams.