Alesha Dixon
Life's too short to dwell on things. When you go through experiences that are bad, it's a good thing. You learn from it - become a stronger person. Life is a roller coaster, and you don't know what's going to be thrown at you next, so all you can do is give it your best shot.Collection: Good
A family holiday to Jamaica in 2004 - my uncle was getting married out there, and it was the first holiday I'd had in Jamaica, which is where my father is from. My friends and I stayed in a really plush hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, so we had a great experience.Collection: Experience
There were very few British black women on TV or in music when I was a teenager; when you're growing up, you need someone you can identify with. I remember at Christmas being bought a doll that didn't look anything like me, so I threw it away.Collection: Christmas
If you have a positive frame of mind, you can manifest positive things in your life.Collection: Positive
I was the only mixed-race girl in my school, but for me, that was a positive thing; it made me unique. If it wasn't for spending time with the black side of my family, perhaps I may have felt like an outcast, but I never did.Collection: Positive
This is going to make me sound awful, but I was 18 when I took my first flight because the Prince of Brunei flew Mis-Teeq over to play at his birthday party! I was in business class being fed amazing food. I got over my fear pretty quickly.Collection: Birthday
Success now is waking up in the morning and being comfortable in my own skin. You can go to a job that pays well, but if you're not happy in yourself or if you're not grateful for what you have, it means nothing.Collection: Morning
I love being a female. I love being the boss.
When I first got the call to do 'Britain's Got Talent', it was actually Amanda who was one of the first people to reach out to me and suggest we go out for a coffee and have a conversation. And we did, and it was great.
Every young person needs to have a character that they can identify with and feel included by.
At home, my daughter Azura has got this long blonde wig that she loves, and she's obsessed with Rapunzel, but you need to have balance. It's important that she understands her curly hair is beautiful, too.
Maybe because I'm mixed race, I don't see the colour when I look at Meghan; I just see a beautiful, articulate, lovely woman who has stolen the heart of Harry, and I wish them a lifetime of happiness.
People worry about their looks going, but go deeper, and you realise you know yourself more and you're more comfortable in your own skin and more settled within yourself, and that's a really great basis on which to live your life.
I've got so many dance heroes, and it's such a cliche, but how can I not say Michael Jackson? Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul - they are the people I remember when I was a little girl, watching their videos and trying to learn all the choreography.
I love to look good - I love to get glammed up - but it's not the most important thing in my world, and I'm not afraid to not be perfect. I can see where there is a lot of pressure 'cause we live in a very visual world, but I try to go a bit deeper than that. Things are just more important!
The most important thing for me, when somebody asks me what I class as being a success, is being a decent human being.
I used to be cagey about my love life. I was cagey for four years. Az and I only decided to come out because we were pregnant. Otherwise, we would have kept it quiet. It really was a case of staying private. I am not one of those people who frivolously throws their private life out there.
Azura is a complete joy and has changed my life. She keeps me on track. I want to make sure I'm the best person I can possibly be for her.
Even though I haven't released a song since 2010, I have still performed, so I don't feel I have been completely away from music. I have been away on a mainstream level, of course. But releasing a single this way - on my own independent record label - is more fun.
We always have a really bad dancer on 'Strictly,' like Kate Garraway or Fiona Phillips, and that's great, and we love it, but when it comes to the quarters and semis, you want the best dancers left in.
When there is a danceoff, it's scary thinking that someone's destiny or fate is in your hands. I actually always prefer it when the public decide on something rather than four individuals. 11 million people are a lot more powerful than four judges.
What I loved about 'Strictly' as a viewer and contestant was that it was warm, family entertainment. So it is a shame for the show when controversy surrounds it. That is not what we like about 'Strictly.'
I like 'Strictly' because it is warm, glamourous, and brings families together.
As time goes by, we're getting more accepting of the differences between one another - whether it's gay or transgender, whether it's black or white - but there's still a lot of people in the world who don't feel that they can express themselves as they want.
I guess when you're holding the creative reins, you can be across everything, and it's more authentic. You can control it.
I had kind of left college. I wanted to study to be a sports teacher, but I had that little inner voice within me that said, 'You should be doing something else,' and I followed that gut instinct.
I started out as a duo with Mis-Teeq's Sabrina Washington, and we worked for four or five years before signing a record deal. I had no money, and I was taking part-time jobs just to earn the train fare to get to rehearsals.
Britain is an amazing multicultural place to live in, and that should be celebrated and represented.
When I saw Neneh Cherry singing on TV, I was so glad that there was someone of the same ethnicity - and with the same curly hair - for me to look up to.
Babies smell amazing, but I'm not one of these women who smell a baby and go, 'I want one.' I see a dog over the field and go, 'I want one.'
I'm still friends with the girls I grew up with, and they're all on their second child. They're all like, 'Don't be in your 40s by the time you have kids,' and I'm like, 'Why not? There's nothing wrong with that.'
Anyone who walks out on stage, whether he's eight or 80, they'll go, 'Oh, Alesha, he'd be good for you.' I'm the butt of the single jokes.
I love the fact that I can live a spontaneous lifestyle.
Sometimes in life, when bad things happen to us, or things aren't going our way, or we're faced with a challenge or a problem, it's how you look at the problem; it's how you do it to change your mindset, to dilute the negativity.
I'm happy to be human, and being human means we aren't perfect.
The older you are, the wiser you are. The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the more you know yourself, the more patient you are. I don't sweat the small stuff any more.
Once you've been through tough times, you can only become stronger.
My laugh is filthy. I'd change it if I could, but it's become a trademark.
I have different methods. Sometimes I just like to immerse myself in music; that's a really good way to switch off from the world. I also like to listen to Eckhart Tolle, a very wise, very spiritual man, who teaches us how to live in the present.
Even though it's called Music Of Black Origin, it's not just music for black people. Music is for everybody. I think it's good that black music is acknowledged, and it's open for lots of artists, including white artists who have been inspired by black musical heritage.
I prefer to focus on who I am as a person and what I stand for. We all want to look good, but I find it more rewarding to work on feeling good and going a bit deeper beneath the surface.
I've always been taught that life is a series of chapters, and it's all about moving forward and not carrying around baggage.
I'm the most organised person in the world. Apparently, I'm just like Monica from 'Friends' because I am hyper, hyper organised. It's probably bordering on OCD.
I used to be really afraid and anxious of taking on too much, and the older I'm getting, the more fearless I'm becoming. Life is so much more relaxed when you're like that.
I exercise to stay strong, healthy, and stage-ready. I never prepare for a red carpet - I just go with the flow.
I do enjoy the dressing up. I like to have fun with fashion, and while the cameras can be a bit intense, I love the final result... I tend to treat the whole process with a pinch of salt!
I create mood boards, and then we source fabrics and design the dresses. We are trend-led but also do our own thing! I want women to feel fabulous in our creations.
You can't always trust people with your heart, but you should still love anyway. That's what I would say.
I think that when you're young, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You're anxious; the world seems like a scary place. You don't know where you're going to fit in, what you're gonna do with your life - but actually, life has a way of sorting itself out, and universal law takes over.
What I've learnt is to be in the now. It's something my mum has always said to me, and when I read a book called 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle, I realised just how important it is.