Presenter Anthea Turner talks candidly about mortality, menopause and testing your comfort zone

It’s been almost 30 years since presenter Anthea Turner (pictured right) first appeared on Blue Peter, but the 61-yearold star, who got engaged to businessman Mark Armstrong in September 2019, is as energetic as ever.

As she sits down in the luxury spa hotel Eastwell Manor in Kent to chat exclusively to hello! about her new book How to Age Well: The Secrets, the serene surroundings seem to echo her own inner calmness.

She tells us her book is a guide to help all women wanting to look and feel their best, and it is filled with the tips and advice she has gained working with beauty and fitness experts over her long career in front of the cameras.

At the heart of it all is taking control of our health, she says: “It’s pivotal to everything, so don’t destroy it.”

Anthea, what inspired you to write How to Age Well: The Secrets?

“Turning 60. There’s something about turning 60 that makes you go: ‘Hmm, okay…’

“The Japanese call it your second spring, not the autumn of your life, and we have to be positive about it. But you do feel different.”

In what way?

“It’s mentally different – taking stock and realising your mortality, knowing that, if it all goes well, you might have another 25 to 30 years on this planet so you better make it count.