Cat's Living Her Nine Lives To The Full

SMTV Live presenter Cat Deeley might be fronting the SMTV Valentine Special but when it comes to the day itself, she's not that impressed. And what's more Cat, recently voted one of the ten sexiest women in the country, isn't expecting a single Valentine's card.

"To be honest I'm not a big one for Valentine's Day," laughs the 21-year-old.

"I think blokes always think they have got to send stuff on the day. It's much more romantic to get something on another day for no reason.

"I prefer to be sent something out of the blue or for someone to say 'right let's go to Paris', that's much nicer.

"I also remember being at school and it was horrible if you didn't get any cards, it was always a nightmare."

But the bubbly presenter seems to be successfully putting such teenage traumas behind her and carving out a career in television.

What does she think about being chosen as the object of desire in a recent poll by the nation's red blooded males?

"It was very flattering as I had only just started on MTV and didn't know that many people knew me. You take it all with a pinch of salt though as you don't look like that all the time.

"A friend of mine, who had been travelling round the world, got back home and spotted the poll.

"He sent me a card saying 'congratulations' then he wrote: 'They haven't seen you in the scabby dressing gown, with your glasses on, with a hangover and dribbling baked beans down your front'!

"It's true, everybody has nice days but we're all the same really."

Evidently Cat's rapid rise to fame does not seem to have unduly affected her matter-of-fact approach to life.

Originally from Sandwell in the West Midlands, she was spotted by a model talent scout at the Clothes Show Live in Birmingham when she was just 16-years-old.

She gained 9 A-grade GCSEs at school before starting to study for A-levels. But while most of her classmates had their hearts set on careers as doctors, and lawyers, Cat wasn't too sure.

"I did my A-Levels and then had to decide whether I was going to go to uni, but I didn't want to go if I didn't know what I wanted to do. I think it's a long time to be stuck somewhere not knowing what you want to do.

"So I had a year out and started doing some modelling. I'd spent the summer after my GCSEs doing some work. I chose to work for Storm model agency because when I came into the office they had a little dog running around.

"It was nice and it might sound daft but I was 16 and from up north and didn't really know London, so the little dog helped me to decide.

She spent the next couple of years travelling the world on modelling assignments but it wasn't what she really wanted to do.

"I never saw modelling as a long term thing and my dad didn't like it all. I think my family are pleased I've gone into television, although dad would still like me to be Kate Adie - something serious."

Cat admits: "When I was a little girl I always wanted to be a television presenter.

"I always used to pretend I was on Blue Peter and makes things which went horribly wrong," she laughs.

"I went in for loads of auditions and they told me I'd 97% got the job - now all I had to do was present Select.

"I was scared to death. It was an audition but it was actually going out on air. It was frightening but it worked out okay."

She's enjoying her Saturday morning job working alongside those smirking Geordies Ant & Dec on SMTV, even if the hordes of teenage girls who make up the audience can be a bit of a handful "It's great, they're smashing lads to work with and we do have a good laugh. But on SMTV things can get a bit hectic with last minute changes.

"If we've got a boy band on the girls tend to get quite carried away. They all hype each other up and you do end up being shoved around sometimes.

"When 911 were on we had a girl who climbed up a tree by the River Thames and she fell out. I don't know why she'd done it, it wasn't like she could see in the dressing rooms - you could only get a look in the canteen."

So does Cat have a dream Valentine date?

"I think it would be a man who was a mixture of Jim Morrison, Elvis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Huey from the Fun Lovin' Criminals... oh and Ant & Dec!"

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