Mel Giedroyc's My London

The Bake Off presenter loves a late night in Joe Allen and a pint at the Uxbridge Arms

Hannah Nathanson

11 October 2013

Home is…

I’ve always lived in West London. Right now we live so far west it’s pretty much Ruislip.

Favourite discovery?

St Dunstan-in-the-East, the church in the City that was bombed in the war and has been left as a beautiful ruin.

First thing you do when you arrive back?

I have to touch base with the recycling and the bills.

What would you do as Mayor?

Shut the whole city off to traffic and force people to cycle around wearing fancy dress. Everyone misbehaves when they’re in fancy dress.

Best thing a cabbie has said to you?

I asked one whether he had any kids. He said, ‘Yep, I’ve got nine daughters and we keep trying to have a son.’ I found that very life-affirming.

Best place for a first date?

Moreish Café, in Bloomsbury. It’s Spanish and stays open until 10pm at weekends, which is quite good for a first date because it leads nicely to the conundrum: ‘Where do we go now? Your place or mine?’

Best meal?

A buffet lunch at Sakonis, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in Wembley. The dosas are to die for.

Most romantic thing someone’s done for you?

My long-suffering husband takes my crapulent Renault 4 all the way to Lewisham for a service twice a year. There’s a lot of romance in the mundane things.

Favourite shops?

Daunt Books in Marylebone, and the shops in Southall for all my curry needs; I’m a big fan of Robert Dyas in Ealing, because I love buying brooms and new bulbs, and I like Shepherd’s Bush Market for fabric. I don’t like to spend lots of money on clothes or shoes, it’s my Catholic guilt. I’d maybe do a quick dash into Topshop on Oxford Circus.

Earliest London memory?

The first time I went to a West End show, in 1975. We saw Peter Pan and it was a life-changing moment.

Favourite pub?

The Uxbridge Arms in Notting Hill. I’ve always hooked up with people there because it’s close to the Gate and the Coronet, two of my favourite cinemas in London.

Last play you saw?

One of the ten secret shows put on at the Lyric in Hammersmith. There was a lot of stripping, dancing in water and chains. It was very bold and made me think, ‘I’m 45 but I can still cut it.’

Animal you’d most like to be?

An armadillo because they’re very nippy on their feet, but when they need to, they can curl up into a ball.

Building you’d like to buy?

The Hoover Building on the A40. I love the way it looks, there are good connections into town and you could give fantastic parties there.

Your biggest extravagance?

My Virgin gym membership. I need to start using it more.

What do you collect?

Sylvanian Families for my nine-year-old daughter.

Who do you call when you want to have fun?

Sue Perkins. We usually go for a film and a curry. I have a history of taking her to pretentious films with subtitles, which she always rips the piss out of me for.

Best place for a nightcap?

I love a late night in Joe Allen.

Have you had a run-in with a policeman?

Yes. I was walking down the Harrow Road having just filmed Light Lunch, so probably 15 years ago. A police van stopped beside me, two policemen got out and shouted, ‘Right, back of the van, now.’ And I just thought, ‘I’m an upright citizen, what’s going on?’ When I got to the back of the van, they went, ‘Light Lunch,’ and cracked up laughing.

At the moment you are…

Rehearsing for a new musical, The Opinion Makers, which is set in the 1960s and is about advertising and market research. My part is very similar to Peggy in Mad Men.