"If you had said to me, where do you fancy going on your holidays? I would never have said, ‘Ooh, let’s go to Antarctica and then travel all the way back up to the Arctic.’ Never in a million years. But that’s what I love about this show, it takes me completely out of my comfort zone. To be honest, I would be just sat on a sun lounger in Tenerife drinking a pina colada for the rest of my life if it wasn’t for these amazing experiences that I get to do. This was the most incredible thing I have ever, ever done."

"Once you get to over 60 it’s that thought, let’s do this amazing journey while we still can. Get into a Zodiac and climb up mountains because there comes a day when you can’t. You start to think how many summers have I got left here? Talking to people on board that included guests in their 50s, 60s and 70s it was ‘why are we waiting?’ You can wait and wait and wait and then there will be something that happens, and you’ve missed the window."

"The Scenic Eclipse is perfect in every way if you are on a discovery adventure. What made it fantastic for me was that all the staff were experts, whether they were helicopter pilots or marine biologists. They knew everything. It was a joy to sit and talk to them. They’ve got two helicopters on board. When I landed on the Scenic in one of them that’s James Bond. I thought, ‘I’m liking my life right now.’ "

"My thermals. They worked there and they work in Wakie. If you need to turn the heating down a couple of degrees, which we might all be doing this year, get your thermals on. You can get them in every cheap shop. They’ve got them in Marks’, they’ve got them in H&M. I must admit I lived in mine. I took about three pairs and rotated them the whole time. Never had them off. And then everything else is clean because you’ve got your base-wear on. Thank goodness for my ski suit. I took two ski suits. A black one for Antarctica – hark at me! – and then I had this multicoloured one for the Arctic."

"Seeing Nature like that and being a guest in their home, it was breath-taking. The whales didn’t care. I think they are quite used to the guides. They know that we are no threat. That’s lovely."