Last word with… Sarah Beeny

Sarah Beeny set up her property development and investment companies aged just 24 before presenting property shows on Channel 4. Now 40, she lives in Streatham with husband Graham and their four sons

When I was a schoolgirl I…

Was very rebellious – in fact, I was a bit like a character from St Trinians! I went to a girls’ school in Berkshire and any chance I got I’d be out kissing boys, being naughty. I wasn’t a huge fan of lessons though because I didn’t like being told what to do, which in school can be a bit of a problem.

The shortest job I’ve had was…

As a chef. I needed cash while I was travelling around New Zealand and so applied for a job at a restaurant. They said they needed a tapas cook, so I lied and said, “Yes, I’ve been cooking tapas for years”. What was I thinking? I could cook a bacon and egg sandwich at best! They gave me the job but fired me within three hours of my starting after witnessing me put a crab on a griddle, prod it a few times until it fell apart, scrape it on to a plate and serve it. So yes, that was the end of that. But because I have been mostly self-employed from an early age, I’ve generally chosen jobs that I liked.

The three words that would describe me the best are…

They would probably be ‘scatty’, ‘busy’ and ‘stubborn’, but all in nice ways!