Abuse from trolls is my oxygen... it shows me 0 that I'm doing something right

YOU might think Carol Vorderman would be affected by the sheer amount of online abuse she's subjected to, but no - instead, she says: "I quite enjoy it."

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Over the past few years, the former Countdown star has become increasingly vocal about politics online, regularly criticising the previous Conservative government making her a bit of a target for those who don't agree with her strong opinions.

Her new book - Now What? On a Mission to Fix Broken Britain opens with some of the startling things public figures have said about her including a post on X, where former Tory MP Marco Longhi calls her: "A person who obviously has bitterness, arrogance and envy in her heart. There's no amount of plastic surgery or Botox that will cure that." But does criticism - from public figures and online trolls - bother Carol? Not in the slightest.

"I quite enjoy it - they don't realise, bless them, the trolls, that they're a bit of my oxygen," she says.

"It's like when the Tories came after me, I knew I was doing something right so I'll carry on, because that's the way I'm built. I won't shy away from it.

"Most of the responses from trolls are misogynistic or abusive - there's no argument, there's no debate based on fact. It's just abuse, bless them." After years in the public eye - presenting on Loose Women and BBC Radio Wales, and appearing on reality shows like Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! - Carol says she published her first political post on X (formerly Twitter) in November 2022.

It was about Baroness Michelle Mone, who faced controversy over the so-called "VIP lane" contracts granted to some PPE suppliers during the coronavirus pandemic.

That's all detailed in her new book, along with a diary of her increased political activism from the end of December 2022 up until the recent election.

To understand why Bath-based Carol, 63, decided to dive head first into politics, she says it's important to know her background growing up in North Wales.