I do believe that men and women are different, and that should be celebrated, but at the same time, I think there's a lot of things girls can do, and do equally, as well. Whether it's fighting for equal pay or just to be treated with respect, it's something I think is really important.
On a plane, you're in your own little bubble, so I try and enjoy it and don't get worried or frustrated about delays.
Babies smell amazing, but I'm not one of these women who smell a baby and go, 'I want one.' I see a dog over the field and go, 'I want one.'
Going out to eat is one of the most enjoyable things about going away, and I do like to try the local delicacies. I'm very open-minded with food, and I think, when you go abroad, that's the time to experiment and try something new.
Britain is an amazing multicultural place to live in, and that should be celebrated and represented.
Dad's fear, especially when I was 18, was that, in the music industry in the U.K., there wasn't really anybody I would aspire to who was of black origin and who was successful. It was mainly black American musicians in the charts and, at that age, I think you look for someone you can identify with, and there wasn't really anyone.
I'd be lying if I did not say that being a woman of colour is something I am always mindful or aware of.
I used to have seven dogs; now I have a more manageable four. I was in Cornwall, and one dog got swept away downstream, so my cousin dived in to get it, then her dog dived in. So I jumped in to rescue hers. Those dogs are my calm. That's how I cope with the business - I get the sanity on my woodland dog walks, being a tomboy.
I've always had a passion for dancing, and I wasn't lucky enough to go to stage school, so when I got onto the show, I was like a kid in a sweet shop. I went into it just to have fun. The support was overwhelming, to say the least. It wasn't until the end of the show that I realised how much I really wanted to win it.
I'm a very deep thinker, and I find it very hard to switch off at night, so I usually have to put on an episode of 'Friends' or listen to some music before bed.
I think that when you're young, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You're anxious; the world seems like a scary place. You don't know where you're going to fit in, what you're gonna do with your life - but actually, life has a way of sorting itself out, and universal law takes over.
The most important thing for me, when somebody asks me what I class as being a success, is being a decent human being.
My friends say that at school I was quite bossy. I still am a bit bossy, but a nice bossy. I've always been very strong-minded, even as a little girl. But I'm a great friend, and I've never been in a fight in my life. I think it's nice to be nice, especially because I've never been scared to stick up for myself. I'm not a shrinking violet.
Anyone who walks out on stage, whether he's eight or 80, they'll go, 'Oh, Alesha, he'd be good for you.' I'm the butt of the single jokes.