Alesha Dixon

As time goes by, we're getting more accepting of the differences between one another - whether it's gay or transgender, whether it's black or white - but there's still a lot of people in the world who don't feel that they can express themselves as they want. ”

Going out to eat is one of the most enjoyable things about going away, and I do like to try the local delicacies. I'm very open-minded with food, and I think, when you go abroad, that's the time to experiment and try something new. ”

Dad's fear, especially when I was 18, was that, in the music industry in the U.K., there wasn't really anybody I would aspire to who was of black origin and who was successful. It was mainly black American musicians in the charts and, at that age, I think you look for someone you can identify with, and there wasn't really anyone. ”

I started out as a duo with Mis-Teeq's Sabrina Washington, and we worked for four or five years before signing a record deal. I had no money, and I was taking part-time jobs just to earn the train fare to get to rehearsals. ”

I was the only mixed-race girl in my school, but for me, that was a positive thing; it made me unique. If it wasn't for spending time with the black side of my family, perhaps I may have felt like an outcast, but I never did. ”

There still aren't many black women on prime-time TV. Times are changing, but it's interesting: we're in 2013 and still experiencing firsts... Hopefully, in the next 100 years, things will balance even more. ”

I have definitely had times in my career where I have wondered whether I have had to work a bit harder, prove myself more, but I would never want to be in a position where I am saying, 'Oh, I did not get that job because of my race.' ”

I prefer to focus on who I am as a person and what I stand for. We all want to look good, but I find it more rewarding to work on feeling good and going a bit deeper beneath the surface. ”