TV presenter Anna Richardson talks mental health, filming Supershoppers and her partner Sue Perkins

A DAY in the life of presenter and mental health speaker Anna Richardson, 47, includes a picking clothes for TV, green apples and voice-overs.

Anna and her partner Sue Perkins are parents to a rescue dog called Tig, who sleeps in their bedroom every night and keeps them busy.

I’m not a very good morning person.

My partner Sue [Perkins, 48] tends to get up first at about 8am to feed our dog Tig. She’s a Whaffie – a Staffie-whippet cross – and we got her six months ago from a shelter.

She’s so lovely and sleeps in our bedroom every night. After Tig’s breakfast Sue takes her for a walk while I roll over for another half-an-hour snooze.

I’m either insanely busy or really lazy.

If I have a spare day I’ll lounge on the sofa in a onesie all morning, but if I’m working then I’ll grab a tea, a banana and a handful of almonds before jumping in the shower.

Then I’ll do my own hair and make-up, and put on my “telly clothes”. It can take a long time to decide what to wear as viewers complain if I wear the same outfit again on TV!

Sue’s an amazing cook.

I look forward to her lunches while I work all morning.

Recently I’ve been filming Supershoppers as well as launching my new business, a 24-hour mental-health support website called Mindbox.

So until 2pm I’ll be attending meetings, doing interviews and taking calls. If I’m at home, Sue will prepare a very healthy lunch, which we call the “lunch of champignons”.

It’s a two-egg omelette with shiitake mushrooms, a little bit of sheep’s cheese and a load of steamed spinach on the side. I take lots of vitamins, too, and slap on an HRT patch because I’m perimenopausal.

I’m disciplined about my own mental health.

Every afternoon I walk Tig because I find being outdoors in a green space extremely calming.

I’ve had years of therapy, so I know my trigger points well. Whenever I’m starting to feel overwhelmed or anxious, I have a consultant pyschotherapist I can talk to, as well as hypnotherapy downloads on my phone.

Occasionally I’ll take a very low dose of an antidepressant. Mental health has always had an associated stigma and there’s still a way to go for people to talk about it openly, but I think we’re getting there.

My voice is my tool, so I have to be careful with it.

Most afternoons I’ll have voice-overs for one of my TV shows at around 3pm.

I always bite into a green apple before recording because the enzymes and acid in it clear your saliva and make your voice very crisp. I always have water close by, too.

Evenings are always about relaxing.

If we’re not out for dinner, Sue and I will munch on pumpernickel toast with avocado.