When it comes to early starts – and spending the day under bright lights – Cat Deeley has learned a thing or two about looking and feeling her best during her 25-year TV career.

The mum-of-two (Deeley has two sons – Milo, eight, and James, five – with her husband, comedian Patrick Kielty) first found fame in the late Nineties, hosting MTV and SM:TV Live with Ant & Dec, before moving to LA and presenting entertainment show, So You Think You Can Dance?

Having moved back to London in 2020, she made her debut on ITV’s This Morning this week, alongside co-presenter Ben Shephard.

A self-confessed beauty enthusiast, Deeley, who is also an ambassador for Ella & Jo’s, is all about keeping her skin well cared for and glowing.

Here, she shares her skincare secrets and favourite finds…

What are your handbag essentials?

“I always like to carry the Hyaluronic Skin Mist from Ella & Jo. It’s a brilliant product that freshens up your make-up during the day, and plumps and nourishes your skin at the same time – it really gives you a glow.”

Deeley says she also carries a bottle of unisex fragrance oil called E11even (£80 for 20ml, e11evenfragrance.com).

“It’s just great for taking a moment. It’s energising, its uplifting, its grounding… all those things in one. I normally have some form of moisturising lip balm in there too,” she adds of her handbag essentials.

What are the 3 beauty products you can’t live without?

“The Glow Up Enzyme Mask is my absolute favourite out of the entire range,” says Deeley. “It plumps up my skin, gets rid of any dry skin cells, and just makes any moisturiser that I use afterwards really sink in. It’s beautiful.”

“I love an eyelash curler, it’s one of my favourite things,” she adds. “It makes me look awake even when I’ve been up half the night with the boys. And some kind of mascara, probably.”

What’s the one beauty rule you swear by?

“Why cleanse once when you can cleanse twice? It’s essential for me, especially if I’ve been working, have been to an event, or if I’ve had a full face of make-up.”

Deeley says she also loves Melt The Day Away Cleansing Balm: “I put it all over my face and massage it in. You can use it on eye make-up, foundation, everything.

“Take a warm washcloth and then just take everything off. I love to use the Brighten & Glow Hydrating Exfoliating Cleanser after that, just to remove every last trace of make-up,” she adds. “And then I go into my full skincare routine.”

When do you feel your most beautiful?

“I feel my most beautiful when I’m probably not at my most beautiful, but to me, I feel it,” says Deeley.

“It would be as the sun is starting to set on the beach after spending the day with my boys in the sunshine. I’ve got beachy hair, no make-up on, and my skin feels warm.

“You can smell the sunshine on your skin, and they kind of cuddle into you at the same time. That’s when I feel my best.”

What’s the best beauty tip you’ve learned throughout your TV career ?

“The best beauty tip is basically ‘less is more’. I think women look more beautiful with actually less make-up,” says Deeley.

“But that does mean you have to really take care of your skin. You have to eat a good diet, and you have to exercise and drink water.”

Deeley says she doesn’t have one specific beauty icon, but adds: “For me, it’s always when a woman feels comfortable in her own skin. I think then she is incredibly beautiful and incredibly charismatic. When you feel good, you look good too.”

Have you had any beauty disasters?

“There are so many! I mean, I’ve had a terrible perm, I had one eyebrow, I then had two very thin eyebrows, I had really short hair that looked like a giant mushroom. I had red hair, dark hair, blonde hair – here is nothing I haven’t done,” she laughs.

“But I think that’s one of the things when I was talking about women being very comfortable in their own skin. I think you have to kind of go through that to work out what doesn’t work for you, and work out what does work for you.”