I was born and raised in West Bromwich, in the West Midlands, of Polish parents. I think of myself as a 'Black Country Pole', as both of these cultures have had a huge influence on me and who I am. I attended Stuart Bathurst RC High School, in Wednesbury, and later Leicester University, where I gained a BA (Hons) in French and Politics, before completing a course in Newspaper Journalism at Richmond College, Sheffield, in 1987.

I developed a taste for foreign travel at a very young age, and am rarely happier than when sitting on a plane, heading off for some new adventure. I am a bilingual Polish speaker and am currently studying for AS-level in Russian, having gained an A* in GCSE in 2008.

I love sport, and do Jazzercise regularly; I also play netball and am learning to play golf. Several weekends a year are spent climbing Snowdon or some other mountain in Wales. I have a season ticket at West Bromwich Albion, but no longer go as often as I would like to!

When I haven't got my head stuck in a Russian text book, I enjoy going to live gigs, and one of my musical passions is Big Band Jazz and the dancing of that particular period.

I live in Buckinghamshire with my husband, Stuart Hudson, an IT Manager, and our cat, Mishka.