In the hot seat: Alice Roberts

DR Alice Roberts was born in Bristol and went to school in Westbury-on- Trym. She is a lecturer in anatomy and a physical anthropologist at Bristol University and is an expert on the BBC television series, Coast .

Alice also presented the series Don't Die Young and is currently filming a five-part BBC series called The Human Journey, in which she travels to the ends of the earth to trace the extraordinary beginnings of the human story.

What makes the West Country “home” to you?

I'm a Bristol girl. I was born in the old Bristol Maternity Hospital in 1973 and grew up in the city. I went to Cardiff University to study medicine but came back to Bristol to teach anatomy.

I love the South West. Although I've travelled all around the British coast (with Coast!) and I've seen many beautiful places, nothing will ever beat the rugged north coast of Devon and Cornwall. I've fond memories of seaside holidays, camping in Cornwall, and now I try to get down to the sea whenever possible – especially when there are surfable waves.

How do you relax?

I paint and draw, which I find incredibly relaxing. I can completely lose track of time when I'm doing it. I've got into gardening in the last couple of years, too, and enjoy growing vegetables (and eating them).

I'm away filming a lot this year and I've taken up yoga again. I can do it in my hotel room or outside if there's space. It's very relaxing as well as helping me to keep fit.

I'm missing my bicycle as I travel around the world. When I'm home I usually cycle everywhere.

When and where are you happiest?

On my surfboard in the sea off North Devon. I like it when it's sunny but also when it rains and the raindrops skid across the surface of the water.

What's your earliest memory?

Standing on the staircase in the Mansion House in Bristol holding my otter soft toy. My granddad was Lord Mayor in 1975, so I must have been two years old at the time.

What makes you laugh?

Other people laughing, Black Books, The Mighty Boosh and the radio programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

What do you dream of?

Finding things I've lost, exploring big rambling houses, flying and going into an exam and not knowing anything – and I haven't done any exams for years.

What is your greatest fear?

Losing those closest to me.

Who do you admire, living or dead, and why?

Darwin. I still can't believe his first paper was read out at the Royal Society in 1858 and no-one took much notice.

What is your worst habit?

I don't have any bad habits!

What possession could you not live without?

None of them. Although I do have some old photos that I'd be very sad to lose.

What is your greatest frustration?

People not caring about whether the clothes they buy are made in sweatshops or whether the animals they eat had a nice life.

Then there's the inordinately expensive cost of rail travel and the lack of space for bikes on trains in the UK.

Another frustration is not being able to lock up and leave a bike in Clifton, Bristol, without it, or parts of it, getting stolen.

What is your favourite book?

Just one? That's very difficult and depends on what I'm reading at the time. I'm very fickle. At the moment it's Colin Tudge's Secret Life of Trees.

What is your favourite word?

Discombobulating.

What would you choose to eat and drink at your last meal?

At the moment I'd like to have a meal which included some baby fern fronds from Borneo, green bamboo from southern China and tomatoes and goats' cheese from the Dordogne. And maybe a small glass of Sancerre to wash it down.

What or who is the love of your life?

Dave Stevens. We met while we were both at Cardiff University. I was doing medicine and he was an archaeology student.

Who would you invite to your dream party?

Too difficult.

What law would you introduce if you were in charge?

I don't like laws that are restrictive. But I'd like to offer everyone a free bike and make sure that cycling in cities was safer.

What single thing would improve your life?

Being able to see without contact lenses or glasses.

What is your greatest achievement?

My PhD. I did it a long time after my medical degree and it took more than seven years, doing it part-time. Sometimes I thought I'd never get through it. My advice to anyone doing a PhD is stick with it. It's worth it.

What talent do you wish you had?

Any kind of musical ability.

How would you like to be remembered?

How very morbid!