Experience of post-natal depression inspired some of the themes for Judy Finnigan’s debut novel. The former queen of daytime TV spoke to Chris Price ahead of her appearance at Folkestone Book Festival.

After the birth of her youngest child, Judy Finnigan remembers how tough it was to cope with becoming a mother for the fourth time.

She was juggling motherhood with working as a reporter for Anglia TV, a short time before she was to become the face of This Morning with her husband Richard Madeley, presenting the show five days a week to millions of viewers.

Her daughter, Chloe, is now 25 and set to star in pantomime in Maidstone this Christmas but Judy’s flood of emotions all those years ago helped a great deal with her first novel, Eloise.

Although matter of fact at first about why she chose her themes of anger and depression – “I thought it would be a very useful plot device” – the former presenter used her memories of depression to create the central character of her story, Cathy.

“It was absolutely horrible,” said Judy. “It was a very unpleasant experience so I am aware of how horrible it can be and I thought it was something I could write about.

“While very genuine, Cathy has been very flaky in the past. She has had depression and a nervous breakdown. The story is a genuine mystery with a crime and I thought it would be good for the plot if she couldn’t make herself believed because no one trusts her after her depression in the past.”

The story follows Cathy, whose best friend Eloise has died very young from breast cancer. Set in Cornwall, it was written mostly in what is called Daphne Du Maurier country, near Fowey, where Richard and Judy have had a house for about 14 years.

“It is a very mystical place for me. It is ancient and elemental, which seems to lend itself to a ghost story quite easily,” said Judy, 64, who admitted author Du Maurier was a huge inspiration.

“I love her books, especially Rebecca. There is that sense of being in that strange, elemental, mystical landscape, which inspired me.”

She began writing the book in 2006 – “literally scribbling it on a few bits of paper in folders and old notebooks” – only pulling it together when she and Richard stopped doing daily TV.

It was a welcome relief from their ill-fated Richard and Judy’s New Position on Watch, which ended in July 2009, less than a year after it started after suffering viewing figures as low as 11,000. “I felt I really wanted to write it. I’m glad I did. I’ve always thought I’d like to write one day, in that vague way that lots of people do. But when I was doing daily television, it was so busy and consumed so much of my life that I never got round to it.

“I didn’t get the fully-fledged plot in my head until we stopped doing daily TV. I just love books and naturally, if you love books you might at some time in your life attempt to write one yourself. It is going to be any good whatsoever. It was never a huge ambition, but it was something that was always at the back of my mind.”

Still a Novice

Despite being one half of the hugely successful Richard and Judy Book Club, Judy considers herself a novice when it comes to book festivals.

She appeared in her first one this summer – the Daphne Du Maurier festival in Fowey, Cornwall – and hopes to bring Richard along to interview her on stage for her talk for the Folkestone Book Festival. She reads three or four books a month and her favourite book is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. She is a fan of thrillers and crime books, particularly Stephen King.

Yet, she does not share Richard’s taste in books. She said: “Women and men approach fiction differently. I’m under no illusion that my book will be appreciated more by women because it is written from a woman’s point of view and is about women and families.

Richard likes stuff to do with war. He likes more action, fighting and historical stuff. He is keen on the Second World War and knows an awful lot about it.

I much prefer to read stuff about relationships and families.” She still cannot believe the success of her book club, which started as a 10-minute weekly feature on the Richard and Judy Show on Channel 4 and has become many people’s go-to guide for their future reads.

She added: “Publishers started to tell us that the books we had chosen for the book club were selling like hotcakes. Much to our astonishment, it became a real thing that if we recommended a book, it would sell well.”

Also at the festival

John Hegley, Quarterhouse, Friday, November 2

Verbal fireworks to open the festival. Expect the unexpected from John Hegley, one of the UK’s most innovative performance poets and comedians.

Adam Nicholson, Quarterhouse, Monday, November 5

The owner of Sissinghurst Castle talks about the place played by gentry families in English history.

John Suchet, Quarterhouse, Tuesday, November 6

A leading authority on Beethoven, the former ITN newscaster brings a new understanding to the complex character who composed some of the world’s greatest music.

Sir John Major, Saga Pavilion, Friday, November 9

The former Prime Minister tells his father’s story as a springboard for an entertaining history of the music hall.

Pam Ayres, Quarterhouse, Friday, November 9

The poet’s latest show includes a selection of new poems and stories, as well as some audience favourites.

Judy Finnigan appears at Folkestone Book Festival on Sunday, November 4. The festival runs from Friday, November 2 to Saturday, November 10. See Judy at the Quarterhouse. Tickets £9.50, concessions £5.50. Box office 01303 858500. Details atwww.folkestonebookfest.com