This much I know: Lorraine Keane

My parents always told me I was lucky.

If you tell someone something often enough, they will end up believing it’s true. I certainly did.

Becoming a parent changed everything. It may be clichéd, but having children has made me a better person. Of course, it’s also turned me into a nervous wreck — I worry about their health and safety all the time.

I was only 18 when I did my first national live broadcast on RTE radio for AA Road-watch. I was petrified. I had to repeat the word ‘cathedral’ four times before I got it right. I came off air after 60 seconds, the longest of my life, and burst into tears.

I can be very focussed. I’m not sure if it was ambition that drove me on to have a successful career or simply the fact that I love working hard and being busy. If you combine that with focus, you become unstoppable.

I spent nine years as the TV3 Entertainment Correspondent, it was pretty much Monday to Friday and once the news was on air at 5.30pm, I’d head off home, so the hours were manageable even when I had my first child.

It was the madness of the ‘Expose’ schedule that spoilt working at TV3 for me in the end. It became a six day week, working evenings and weekends too, so the balance just tipped in the wrong direction. I went back to work when my second baby was only four months old. I stuck it out for another two years, but then I left. I thought, these are probably the only two children I will ever have and I want to spend time with them.

One of my bad habits is trying to start the weekend early, so the glass of wine comes out with dinner on the Thursday instead of the Friday. That, and chocolate.

Leaving TV3 was taking a huge chance. But it taught me not to sweat the small stuff. Jobs come and go, the house and material things are nice but they don’t really matter. Family and health are what’s important.

My advice to anyone starting out in the business is to have good manners and keep a smile on your face.

After years of working in TV, I no longer have a set daily routine. The freedom is lovely. My husband Peter is a musician so we are an unconventional couple.

I’m health conscious in as much as I will cycle into town instead of taking the car, or use the stairs instead of the lift. But I need to have a purpose at the end of any exercise. If I feel my waistband expanding a bit I will book a few sessions with Karl Henry, the wonderful personal trainer.

I believe in God, although I’m not a regular churchgoer. I believe in guardian angels too. There is definitely something ‘out there’.

There is no way to prevent ageing, but a good beauty regime helps. I’d never go under the knife for vanity, but I wouldn’t judge anyone who has botox or fillers, if it gives them confidence, why not?

My father was a musician, with the showbands, so I grew up with music in the house. But I’d never sung in public until I got a role in Girls Night Out. Even my friends were amazed that I could hold a tune. The stage run has just finished. The first few weeks were scary because I’d never acted, sung and danced professionally before. But, after the initial terror, I found the crossover from live TV to stage performing to be quite seamless.

* Lorraine Keane is an ambassador for Dentalcover.ie