Stacey Dooley: ‘My skirt fell down on the Strictly Live tour. I was wearing big borrowed stage briefs‘

Born in Luton, Bedfordshire, Stacey Dooley, 39, left school at 15 and worked as a shop assistant. In 2007 she was selected to take part in the BBC reality series Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts. This led to the series Stacey Dooley Investigates and her career as presenter of hard‑hitting documentaries. In 2018, her face-to-face confrontation with an Islamic State soldier won her the One World Media award and she also received the MBE for services to broadcasting. She has made three new investigative films for the BBC and presents BBC series Clickbait Clinic. She met dancer Kevin Clifton when they were partnered on Strictly Come Dancing; they have a daughter and live in Merseyside.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
I’m quite greedy. I achieve something or something’s feeling really brilliant and I’m, like, “Right, what are we doing next? What are we getting next?”

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
No manners.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
When I was doing the Strictly Live tour at the O2, my skirt fell down. So I am stood in the middle of the O2 in my knickers – and they weren’t even my knickers, they were big borrowed stage briefs.

Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Fame.

Describe yourself in three words
Lucky, funnier than people think, unorganised.

What would your superpower be?
To be able to hear what people say when we’ve left the room.

What makes you unhappy?
I’ve become a lot more anxious since becoming a mum. Catastrophising about things is pretty grim.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
When I know I’m going to be on the telly and I haven’t washed my hair the night before, I watch the edit and I’m, like, “Why didn’t I just get up and wash my hair?”

If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Dolly Parton.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Persistence – I can’t take no.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to run a hotel, work in a market, and run a dry cleaners.

What does love feel like?
Unconditional, unwavering, non‑negotiable. It’s the only thing that really matters.

What was the best kiss of your life?
Kevin Clifton. Our first kiss, in 2019.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
That’s showbiz.

If not yourself, who would you most like to be?
Katie Taylor, the Irish boxer. I am obsessed with her.

When’s the last time you changed your mind about something significant?
I change my mind on political leaders all the time. I think it’s healthy to change your mind.

How often do you have sex?
If Kev’s on tour, never. If we’re at home and Minnie’s not in the bed, yeah, we’ll have sex.

What has been your closest brush with the law?
When I was younger I was shoplifting a lot – blue eyeliner, ice poles – all the necessities. And when I was older I was going around with a lot of questionable characters.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
Take important things seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously.