Tweakments, ageing and confidence: Carol Vorderman opens up about life in her 60s

Carol Vorderman has been on our screens for over four decades, rising to fame as a woman with both beauty and brains on Countdown back in 1982.

In this exclusive interview, the star, who turned 65 on Christmas Eve, fills us in on why this is her best year yet, how she’s gained confidence in her 60s and why she ignores negative comments.

How's life treating you at the moment?

Well, can I tell you, it’s been my happiest year. I was very poorly earlier this year, so I couldn’t go to work. I had chronic pains and tried all sorts of different medications, but now I’m finally on the right ones. So I have changed my life, I see all my friends. I have got a social life from heaven now, baby, and I am having a great time! It really is amazing.

What would you say are the best and worst things about ageing?

I’d say the best thing is that you know who you are and you take no s**t. You call it out when the red flags come waving, you call it out as soon as possible. I’m not saying I’m perfect at that, but yeah, you get better at saying no.

I’d say the worst thing is thinking, ‘I wish I’d known all of this 10 years ago. Why didn’t I know all this and realise all this 10 years ago?’ Another great thing is that I’m post-menopause now, which I have to say is a very fantastic place to be.

Have you found a new confidence now that you’re in your 60s?

Yes! You have to be honest and accept that you’re older, I accept that I look a certain way. I still have treatments, but nobody goes back to how they looked in their 20s. Particularly when you’re on-screen, there is more of an emphasis on how you look, for natural reasons, but it’s like, you get to a point where you go, ‘How many years have I got left?’ Guesswork, let’s say 20 – anything after that’s a bonus – so I’m not going to spend that worrying about how I look.

You mentioned treatments, what do you get done?

I have a treatment every four months that involves having my blood taken, the plasma is then mixed with polynucleotides and all sorts of things and then injected back into the skin. It stops the rapid decline of collagen. It’s really good, but it’s not cheap. If I could bathe in it, I would. I also have Botox and I’ll probably have a facelift at some point.

How do you deal with hateful comments or people criticising your appearance?

Let’s be honest, half of the stuff on social media we know – data has shown – is by bots. So, therefore, I just take half from the nice comments, and I don’t even bother reading the ones that are terrible.