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Sixteen months ago, I did something crazy. I applied to take part in a television series. I knew I didn't stand the remotest chance of being selected. Which only goes to show how wrong you can be.

I was very busy at the time and was avoiding as many Internet distractions as possible. But one hot June afternoon a voice inside my head said 'Log on to Twitter now'. I trust this voice because it gives me very good advice — it kept me away from the King's Cross Tube fire in 1987, and in 2001 it directed me straight to the house my husband and I bought when we moved out of London. It doesn't often pipe up but, when it does, I listen.

So I logged on. And the first thing I saw on Twitter — directly in my line of vision so I couldn't miss it — was a Tweet from Mary Portas (the retail guru often referred to as the Queen of Shops) asking if anyone wanted to get involved in her latest project. I've always been a big fan of Mary's and it sounded interesting, so I clicked on the link. And that's how it all started. 

The project is about the lamentable state of high street fashion for women over 40. Something dear to my heart as I often despair of what's on offer in the major chains, particularly out here in rural England. The clothes either make us look like teenagers or grannies. It seems it's a common problem, which is why Mary decided to create and design her own line of clothes. 

I was invited to an interview with the production team, said what I thought, and to my astonishment I was recruited from hundreds of applicants to be one of a team of six 'ordinary' women giving Mary our thoughts on everything from the shape and colour of clothes to the way our needs change as we get older. We met Mary roughly once every couple of months and there were some major fireworks along the way. There were also some good laughs. The whole experience was tremendous fun. I particularly enjoyed trying on the early prototypes of some of Mary's designs because a lot of them could have been made for me even though that wasn't the intention. It was fabulous to step into a dress and find that it not only fitted perfectly but looked great. That doesn't happen to me every day. 


There is just time to catch the entire three-part Channel 4 series here if you haven't already seen it. The series follows Mary from her initial decision to create her own range of clothes, through many twists and turns, to the opening of her shop within House of Fraser in London. It was a privilege to be involved, and I hope the shop is a huge success for Mary. She has worked so hard on it.