womansweekly.com 11
‘Beingwith
natureiswhere
I getmypeace
thesedays’
CELEBRITY
On Kirstie Allsopp’s
show with Jo Wood✿ Natasha appears in
Kirstie’s Celebrity Craft
Masters, Channel 4, 5pm
Mon – Fri (from 1 July).
Her episode airs on 9 Julyher go through that if
I wasn’t too.’
Natasha insists the bond
between a mother and her
children often can’t be put
into words. ‘There’s a reason
when you read about people
who have been involved in
wars that they call for their
mum. There is something
really visceral about that
connection between
mothers and
children.’
While
Natasha’s
glittering
career in
showbiz
means she
could spend weekends
rubbing shoulders with
A-list friends, that’s not
what makes her happy.
Having gone through
therapy to get over the
trauma of the accident,
spending time on her East
Sussex farm with her family
is where she’s happiest.
‘For me, my relaxation
is just pottering around
outside with the family
and the animals. Just being
with nature is where I get
my peace these days.’
Significantly, Natasha
was very keen to take
part in Kirstie Allsopp’s
new craft series, Kirstie’s
Celebrity Craft Masters,
and it’s clear her
newfound gratitude for
life is linked to a desire
to reconnect with her old
passion for creative arts.
Having studied art at
A-level, Natasha’s plan
was always to pursue
a creative career. But
her academic father
insisted she read
English at Oxford
University and the
newsreader simply
‘forgot’ to return to her
roots – hence she jumped
at the chance to take part in
Kirstie Allsopp’s show.
‘I cancelled everything to
do it and had the best time.
It was really special.’
In a world where we’re
all so disconnected from the
here and now, often losing
sight of the simple things,
Natasha found herself
thinking, ‘Why haven’t
I done this sooner?’
‘In the past I’ve just lost
myself in creating. And
suddenly all that joy of
creativity just came flooding
back,’ she
muses. ‘It
was really
enriching
and peaceful.
Almost like
meditation.’
While it’s
‘unlikely’ she’ll be bending
copper pipes in her back
garden – as you’ll see her
do on the show – any time
soon, Natasha plans on
keeping up with crafts as
a hobby – unlike dancing.
After winning Strictly
Come Dancing in 2004,
Natasha never put her
dancing shoes back on,
which she deeply regrets.
‘I really wish I had kept
it up because I was in such
great shape after Strictly.
But dancing with a tipsy
husband is very different to
dancing with a world-class
professional,’ she laughs.