Alesha Dixon

I've always had a passion for dancing, and I wasn't lucky enough to go to stage school, so when I got onto the show, I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I went into it just to have fun. The support was overwhelming, to say the least. It wasn't until the end of the show that I realised how much I really wanted to win it. ”

In terms of the culture, you can't beat Japan. It's my favourite country. It's one of those places you never want to leave. I love the people, I love the food, and I love their fashion because they're not afraid to experiment. ”

A family holiday to Jamaica in 2004 - my uncle was getting married out there, and it was the first holiday I'd had in Jamaica, which is where my father is from. My friends and I stayed in a really plush hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, so we had a great experience. ”

I used to be really afraid and anxious of taking on too much, and the older I'm getting, the more fearless I'm becoming. Life is so much more relaxed when you're like that. ”

Life's too short to dwell on things. When you go through experiences that are bad, it's a good thing. You learn from it - become a stronger person. Life is a roller coaster, and you don't know what's going to be thrown at you next, so all you can do is give it your best shot. ”

People worry about their looks going, but go deeper, and you realise you know yourself more and you're more comfortable in your own skin and more settled within yourself, and that's a really great basis on which to live your life. ”

It's important to look at what you do have, not what you don't. I'm one of those people who wants a good life, so I do my best to snap out of it. ”

I've always been taught that life is a series of chapters, and it's all about moving forward and not carrying around baggage. ”

I'm not one of those regimental people who never eats certain things - that's not life. You've got to live; you've got to eat what you want and treat yourself. ”

My friends say that at school I was quite bossy. I still am a bit bossy, but a nice bossy. I've always been very strong-minded, even as a little girl. But I'm a great friend, and I've never been in a fight in my life. I think it's nice to be nice, especially because I've never been scared to stick up for myself. I'm not a shrinking violet. ”