Sophie Ellis-Bextor quotes:

My parents are good role models because they've worked hard and gave me a happy childhood.

For every person that says I'm the new Audrey Hepburn, someone else says that I look like an alien.

On my wedding day. I didn't want a natural, blushing-bride look - I had a full-on hairdo and red lips. I thought it would be disingenuous to do the whole virginal look, so even though I had the white dress, I had pink net underneath.

I'm a sucker for good black skirts and pretty little shirts and kooky tops. I have to admit that shopping satisfies my craving for immediate gratification.

I never manage to get to bed early on Sunday night but this doesn't matter, as I don't know one level of exhaustion from another.

I'm really interested in fashion but at the same time I find it quite competitive. Second-hand stuff leaves you more open to whatever your own personal style is rather than feeling dictated to by shops.

The X Factor' is great entertainment, but it doesn't prepare people for getting chewed up and spat out by the music industry.

You have to apply yourself because you'll never get a better opportunity than the one you have right now. Having said that, people know by now if they like me or not. I don't need to prove anything.

I'd never really thought about it before, but now you ask I can see that how my parents handled money definitely affected my relationship with it.

Writing songs about fancying people in dance clubs is all very well but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are other topics.

A lot of what inspired many musicians is celebrating differences, and people relate to that - more people feel like the unpopular, freaky one than the one in the in-crowd.

You should make an effort on stage because it's a performance. The stage should be glittery and camp, but I don't go down the shops in full stage gear.

Trust your instincts: they tend to see you right. By listening to them, at least you can sleep at night.

I love getting dressed up. Being a pop star is the most brilliant job for that. A lot of girls love shopping, but they might see the most amazing outfit and think, 'When am I going to wear that?', so it's my duty to exploit the fact I do have events I can wear these things to.

There are a lots of clowns in our family - our house is a fun house.

I'm all for consumer rights. I get very aggravated if I don't get a good service.

Like my mum, I sometimes buy things I shouldn't and fill my house with rubbish.

I'm a little bit allergic to the whole brand thing to be honest but maybe it's just happening around me and I'm not really aware of it.

Getting up to dance to your own stuff looks pretty pretentious. And leaving the dancefloor when it comes on is just awkward.

A good song is a good song whatever your age.

You learn that, when your children are all right, everything is right in the world.

I try not to wear anything I have to fidget with - there's nothing worse than wearing something and pulling down the hem and re-adjusting the top. My pet hate is when girls wear those strapless dresses and spend the whole night yanking them up.

There are a lot of people out there who lie about their age and I think it does us all a disservice. It can't all be over when you hit 30. That would be rubbish.

It's funny how intimate it feels to get a text.

Having a successful first album is one thing, but a successful third is another.

I learned to stand up for myself at school where I was never too popular.

I'm someone who has always been quite clear about what I like. In the studio, I'm not a control freak but I know what I want.

When I first started out, I got criticism for the way I looked. I think, now, it's a good thing because, why would you want to look like everyone else?

I can definitely tell when mum has got money because then she likes to go shopping to spend it, whereas dad is steadier and avoids splurges. I like to think I've inherited both sides.

I think I'm fairly good with money, but I've developed some strange tics - in shops I don't like to go to the counter unless I've got at least two things to buy. If I'm walking around with just one thing in my hand I'll put it back and wait a few weeks because that doesn't seem like a proper purchase.

I do find it a bit disconcerting when your name becomes a brand.

I don't think that old-fashioned idea of record companies exists any more.

In real life, I'm not super-posh but if that's the stereotype, I really don't care. It could be worse.

Come rain or shine I walk short distances rather than taking my car.

I try my hardest not to read reviews.

Some people can get away with being very sexy to men and not looking like a complete cow, but I didn't think I was in a position where people knew me well enough.

I used to be hung up on my figure, but it's a waste of time. I don't believe in diets. Have four pints one night, be healthy the next.

I must confess I knew very little about the trance scene, I'm more house and commercial dance but it was really interesting and different.

My little boy Sonny makes me laugh all the time. He has good comedic timing.

But I quite like that the public has a very short attention span. If I haven't been on telly for a little bit, I can sense it. People don't take as much notice of you, it's really quite palpable.

I'm too frightened of confrontation, so I will always tip - even if the service has been really shoddy.

Someone had my number and they started text-stalking me. I've never replied to them. It was tempting to write back, but I resisted.

Turning the thermostat down is something that I do pretty reluctantly. I like to be able to walk around in whatever I fancy at home.

Two premature babies was not a genetic thing; we were just unlucky.

I don't want to sound like an old grandmother but actually it's quite nice when you get up early and then, by the time it gets to 10am, you're quite perky and already quite switched on.

Some people are really good at packaging themselves, but that's not really me.

I would love to record something with PJ Harvey or Alison Goldfrapp.

The NHS is a bit iffy when you sprain an ankle, but when it's a high-priority issue, it's fantastic. They don't mess about. They're incredibly efficient when things go wrong.

Philately is normally a boys' hobby but for some reason it was in vogue at my junior school. Between the ages of eight and ten I collected avidly. I'd pore over my Stanley Gibbons book, obsessively checking my collection's value. I always hoped I'd stumble across a really valuable one, a Penny Black or an Inverted Jenny, but it wasn't to be.

In terms of influence, my style icons have been a mixture of Julie Andrews and Olivia Newton-John. When I was little I used to watch 'Grease,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' a lot. If you put all those things together you do kind of get my outfits. A slightly tarty nanny in a second-hand outfit. That is pretty much what I wear.

I don't know why people think I'm polished - I often leave the house with buttons missing and ladders in my tights.

Yeah, I'm not really a morning person.

I started my music career at 18 and for a long while I let other people handle my affairs.

My parents separated when I was four. It wasn't the smoothest of divorces, but then as my mother always says, you can't have a passionate marriage without a passionate divorce.

I've got a thing for footwear; I have about 200 pairs of shoes from all over the world.

I tasted huge success with my first album, and when it's happening it feels like a roller coaster you can't get off. You should be very careful about wishing for success on that scale.

Yes, being educated is definitely an advantage. But having said that, I've met so many people in life who haven't done very well at school but who are still really bright.

I'm always sticking up for other people.

I get really frustrated if people don't smile.

I like the influence of the macabre, but I don't believe in ghosts.

I was an only child, but then my parents resettled with different partners, and I am now one of six.

Being a chef would be too much hard work.

I'm happy that I have a look, but I don't over-analyse whether or not it's beautiful or ugly.