I'll never restrict food... I'm 80% healthy and 20% naughty!

KATE Lawler practically vibrates with energy and curiosity, jumping with thoughts, feelings and opinions she has no qualms sharing.

- Big Brother winner Kate Lawler chats to ELLA WALKER

Whether it’s the micro-needling she had the day before and her skin still smarting (“I look a little bit Donald Trump!”), her love of a pisco sour or postnatal depression, she’s frank, funny and really quite dazzling.

You can see why she captured the nation’s attention in 2002, winning arguably the most iconic ever series of Big Brother.

At just 22, not only was she the first female winner, her cohort also included Jade Goody and fellow broadcasters Alison Hammond and Adele Roberts.

Some 23 years on and people still stop her to ask about it, and whether she’d do the celebrity version. “I always say no, because I had such a great experience and nothing could top the experience I had of winning,” she says.

“People look back at it with nostalgia and really fond memories. As time has gone on and other series have been and gone, you realise what a great series three was and what excellent housemates were cast.”

We're chatting because she’s teamed up with Adaptil, who make calming products for anxious dogs.

Kate, 44, adores her two pooches, Baxter and Shirley, who have struggled with fireworks and public transport.

“They are never not happy to see you,” she says. “They bring this level of internal joy that I can’t describe. Dogs are almost like magic.”

Her pets are considered siblings to her and husband Martin ‘Boj’ Bojtos’ four-year-old daughter, Noa.