Amanda Byram: I’ve started searching for my ‘Dancing with the Stars’ frocks already

TV presenter, health and travel writer on jet lag and heading home for Christmas


All I want for Christmas is . . . to sleep through the night. I've been commuting to LA so I've been in a constant state of jet lag.

December is a busy month because . . . I'm back on Dancing with the Stars in January so I've started searching for my frocks already. I have a black book of designers in the UK, and also my friend Umit Kutluk is designing some pieces for me from scratch.

Christmas really starts for me . . . on Christmas morning. When I'm spending Christmas in Ireland I tend to head home on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning is a wonderful, quiet time (before my sister's four kids arrive – and then it's madness).

My best Christmas gift: My husband secretly bought me an antique engagement ring in one of my favourite antique shops in Buenos Aires. He proposed with it a few days later up a glacier.

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My most bizarre Christmas gift: An Easter egg.

That Christmassy feeling: Listening to Dean Martin, watching It's a Wonderful Life, Baileys and truffles (a Byram Christmas morning tradition), second and third helpings of dinner when you clearly aren't hungry but it's Christmas, so all bets are off.

That Grinchy feeling: Advent calendars in Waitrose – in October.

Christmas at home: Waking up on Christmas morning in my parents' house, coming down the stairs (my parents still leave a trail of gifts from Santa for us).

Christmas away: My husband and I went to South America two years ago – it was incredible. We climbed glaciers, rode horses, penguin-watched, star-gazed in the Atacama desert, before he proposed to me on Christmas Day.

Tips for a stress-free Christmas: Buy gift vouchers online. Don't get caught up in buying too much stuff you don't need. Don't do too much visiting. Spend time with the people you love.

Amanda Byram's Body by Byram active wear is available in Arnotts and Pamela Scott stores countrywide. Prices start at €39