I've never done things in the expected order.

I grew up with three older sisters and started competing in British Judo early, winning my first gold at eight and close to forty medals in all, including UK national titles and an international bronze at thirteen. I lost my dad at fourteen, and the fire that followed has never gone out.

At sixteen I became the first female apprentice at Balfour Kilpatrick and trained as an industrial electrician at Sizewell B, ending up with my own office and a team of electricians. Sales, estate agency, financial planning and my own recruitment firm came after that.

Motorsport came later. Antony and I karted for four years before moving into the MINI CHALLENGE, sold the car on the driveway to buy a race truck, and won the championship in our first year. EXCELR8 took the British Touring Car Championship in only its fourth year.