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I've got a farm in Somerset, and I think it's God's own country. I love it.
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The more of your private life you put into the public domain, the smaller your private life becomes.
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Self-builders are the adrenalin junkies of the DIY world; it's the equivalent of base-jumping off the top of the Gherkin to land in a paddling pool.
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Your home should be about enriching the daily experience.
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Luckily I have never missed a day's filming or work due to asthma.
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I have a recurring nightmare that I wake up in a gutter with nothing. I've had it all my life. That's why I work, I think.
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People have got to get over the fear of not being able to trust others. I come across people who are very successful in their own sphere, and really believe they can do it all themselves, but they can't.
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I'm terrified of being poor, I always have been. It's growing up as a Methodist. I'll spend that bit of extra money to get a better seat on a train sometimes, because it's quieter and calmer, but I refuse to spend money on clothes.
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I've forgiven all my enemies - even those who have stolen money from me.
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Because I live in the countryside, I want a building which encourages me to have a fully formed relationship with the environment. It gives me an opportunity to not just be inside or outside, but in a range of contexts.
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As a property developer, I learned a long time ago to choose your battles wisely and that, unfortunately, compromise is a given.
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I've had my fair share of colds, which last longer than they should and can cause wheezing, so I avoid people who are sneezing like the plague and am scrupulous about hygiene and hand-washing.
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I'm quite shy. Television presents an amplified version of yourself. When I'm on camera I'm pumping more adrenaline, I'm being a bit more engaging than I am in everyday conversation, but that's normal, isn't it? Otherwise nobody would want to watch.
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I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.
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If I welcomed people into my lovely home every week in the pages of a magazine, they'd soon see how incredibly dull it is. It's important to maintain a bit of mystique.
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I'm driven by issues, not driven to be political.
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Building your own home is about desire, fantasy. But it's achievable; anyone can do it.
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I'm really quite conscious of clothes and the way they fit and don't regret wearing anything. Not even the five-inch stack heels I wore with three-button high-waisters at comprehensive school. Regret is for wimps.
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I'm not too fond of really cool design. I've got quite kitsch taste really, in things like tableware. I'm quite a sucker for 1930s pressed glass.
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I don't want anything that I buy to have done any harm to anyone or anything.
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We are borrowing money from future generations. We are borrowing the carbon impact, the resource impact from future generations to get stuff cheap now. We have swept the dirt and dust from our society under the carpet - but this carpet is on other side of the planet.
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A great deal of energy is wasted in hating people, and I can honestly say I've no wish to expend such a precious resource on being outraged about anyone.
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When I left university, I idled around without focus for much too long.
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A friend of mine once wrote a silly article about all these metrosexuals like David Beckham wearing sarongs, and she described me as a 'heteropolitan.' I don't know what that means. I think it was a joke.