You have also continued to work throughout your pregnancies and post-natal periods as a broadcaster and journalist, how was that for you?

There hasn’t been a week of my life since we had children that I haven’t had to re-juggle the balance between home and work. I feel very lucky to be a freelance so I can swap around my commitments when I need to – but it’s never settled, and I’ve made peace now with the fact that I have to re-balance it regularly.

Do you ever suffer with ‘mum guilt’? I do constantly and it’s something I must find more balance with. I think many women feel the same.

“Yes, I do, but I don’t know many mums that don’t in one form or another. I think it’s very important for my children to see me working, especially when it’s charity-based. I’m proud to say all four of my kids have an amazing work ethic, and I’d like to think that some of that is down to us as parents.”

I love that you call Richard your boyfriend, it makes my heart burst when I hear those words. You’ve been with Mr Curtis for many year’s but ‘boyfriend’ always has a feeling of newness about it, does that keep everything fresh in your mind in regards to your dynamic and relationship? Why did you never feel the need to marry?

When we were working on Four Weddings And A Funeral, we added up the number of weddings we had both been to and it was over 100. Those weddings were the basis of the movie, and also the reason that neither of us could imagine going down an aisle. And I always thought that if we didn’t get married, we could never get divorced.

He did present me with a ring 27 years ago and ask me if I’d spend the rest of my life not being married to him. He’s an excellent boyfriend, and is everything I admire in life.

Emma Freud explains why she’ll never marry Richard Curtis