Rising and shining

WHEN Fiona Phillips walks into a room there's something about her that immediately puts you at ease.

Whether it's simply her friendly nature and the smile that's so familiar to the millions of GMTV viewers each day, I'm not sure.

She's strikingly genuine and not above herself at all - even though she spends most of her days interviewing celebrities, and has just starred in a Hollywood movie that's set to be a box office hit.

For someone who starts each day at 4.20am she's surprisingly chirpy. It's Monday morning, she's just come off the set and all has not gone as well as she would have liked.

Kate Winslet has been on the show and 43-year-old Fiona wasn't feeling her best. With a sniffle and a bit of a cough she apologises (dressed immaculately and perfect hair) for not looking her best!

"Kate was tired and I was in another world," she says, her face telling how unhappy she was with her performance. Nothing went drastically wrong, but a complete professional, Fiona freely admits she will spend the rest of the day kicking herself for not being as good as she could have been.

"I'm my own worst critic and I think you need to be self-critical. You need to set yourself benchmarks. I don't think I've reached mine yet."

Fiona's had a long and varied career that's ultimately left her sharing a sofa on TVs most popular morning programme.

Born in Canterbury, Kent, Fiona moved with her parents and brother David, now 41, to Southampton when she was ten.

The family set up home in Rownhams Road, Maybush, and Fiona's first school was in Aldermoor.

"I think it's been razed to the ground now. It's a shame because I had a lovely time there and did really well. I was in all the school teams and got straight As.

"I always remember my teacher telling my parents how bright I was but saying "she has a silly streak that creeps in sometimes".

Aged 11, Fiona moved to Millbrook Community School where life was very different.

Having moved around regularly, she was often the new girl - and therefore a victim of bullies.

"I remember they got me once, a big gang of them, as I walked home. They stole my watch that my mum and dad had bought me."

Like most victims, Fiona stayed silent about her torment.

"I never said anything to anyone. You don't because you feel ashamed."

But it wasn't long before she got in with the wrong crowd, keen to ingratiate herself with her peers, and befriended the bullies themselves.

She left school with just one O-level - a B in English which she picked up a year early.

Fiona enrolled at Southampton Sixth Form College for Girls, retook her O-levels and went on to get three A-levels.

"I made up for my lawlessness in Millbrook. It just goes to show it can be done.

"It was completely different being educated with girls, I would definitely recommend it," she says.

But single sex education is not something she'd consider for her two young boys, Nathanial, five and two-year-old Mackenzie.

"They will be going to state schools as I firmly believe in that," she says confidently.

Fiona gets to spend a lot of time at home with her sons. She is clearly grounded - doing the washing, ironing, cooking and picking Nat up from school daily.

And doesn't her husband Martin Frizell, editor of GMTV, know about it.

"I'm always reminding him I do all this as well as work. He just does his job and comes home," she laughs.

It's not hard to forget the other man in Fiona's life - her sidekick Eamonn Holmes who pops his head around the door of the Green Room while we chat.

They complement each other well.

Fiona says: "We know each other inside out. He knows when I'm down just as I do him and we pick each other up.

"We're like two naughty children. If someone asks us to do something we won't," she giggles.

"He's fun, he makes me laugh. We gossip about everything."

So what now for the girl who started out wanting desperately to be a doctor and even trained as a radiographer at Southampton General?

She's worked her way through radio stations, presented a BBC weekend programme, reported with Sky News, hosted a number of shows and spent two years living it up in glitzy LA.

And she's just made her Hollywood debut in Shark Tale, as the voice of Katie Curent, a roving reporter fish, alongside huge names including Robert DeNiro, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie and Jack Black.

Fiona says she cringed when she took her children to see it for the first time last week but she's satisfied it will do well after hubby Martin reassured her it was good.

"I hate watching and hearing myself but he said it was good, and Martin doesn't just say that! I just hope my name's on the DVD version so that Nat and Mackenzie have something to be proud of in the future."

With her GMTV contract up in two and a half years' time, her future on the red sofa four days a week will one day need some thought.

"Now I've had children I couldn't care less, although I love my job for however long it lasts. I'd really love Eamonn and I to be on a 5pm show, that would be great."

But as much as she loves working, it's obvious that Fiona's world revolves around one thing - her family.

"I just hope I never regret having worked as the children grew up but I think I'm very lucky to work and spend the time with them that I do.

"I guess it's different generations but when I was young I just remember my mum always being there."

Thinking of her mum is the only thing to break Fiona's constant smile during our chat.

In her darkest moments she is haunted by the guilt of not being able to do enough for the woman who is so important to her.

When she was in her 60s, she was struck by early onset Alzheimer's which took hold with such ferocity that she is now in a home and needs 24 hour care.

"She doesn't even know my boys. I just wish I could bring her to live with us but it wouldn't be fair, particularly on the children."

As often as her busy lifestyle allows, she's on the road to Wales to see her parents and will soon be coming back to Southampton when her younger brother Andrew, 30, moves back to the city where he was born.

Visiting Andrew may also give her the chance to watch Saints - a hobby which dominated her childhood.

During her teen years she watched her team lift the FA Cup and followed them all over the world - telling her parents she was staying at a friend's house while she snuck on board coaches bound for countries including France and Belgium.

Almost 30 years later she still hasn't met her idol, Saint's legend Mick Channon.

"I think it's fate that we still haven't met. I've spoke to him once by video and that's it. It is a long lasting love and I still get excited when one of his racehorses wins," she giggles.

"Now I hope we will never ever meet, because that will be the end of my dream."