Stand Up to Cancer is back. What can we expect on the night?

There’s so much going on. We’ve got a special Gogglebox, a Bowie tribute, The Last Leg, Britney, Michael Bublé, José Mourinho, loads of stuff. And we’ve also got the return of Streetmate, which is forming a kind of mash-up with First Dates, so we’ve got Fred from First Dates involved with that as well.

You must be thrilled about that. You’ve always said you wanted to do Streetmate again.

Yeah, and then when I discovered it was going to happen, I became really worried. Would I still like it? Would I be able to do it? Things change over time, and people change. I wasn’t sure how it would go. But in the end it was even better than before, it was amazing. I think, over the years, if anything I’ve got even more ballsy. And the first date will be happening that night, on the roof!

You’ve been incredibly open about your own very emotional experiences with cancer, including making a heart-breaking video last time around. Is it difficult to talk about publicly?

Yes, of course. These things are always difficult, but I’d say it’s easier now to talk about [her sister] Caroline than it was a couple of years ago. But the thing about grief is that it doesn’t have a timescale. So I can sit here today and say to you that it’s got easier in some ways, and then all of a sudden it’ll just hit you so hard all over again, and you don’t know where it comes from. But what is really nice, and really important to me, is that she is still part of the fabric of my everyday life.

It’s live TV, and often pretty anarchic. Do you enjoy that aspect, or is it terrifying?

It’s absolutely anarchic. You have to remember, it’s with Alan Carr, which means it’s all even more anarchic than it otherwise would be. Alan just seems to generate this kind of marvellous chaos wherever he goes. But I really enjoy the experience pf presenting the show – it’s hard, and really emotional, but it’s wonderful as well.

What have been your highlights of past SU2C’s?

The Last Leg! I just love those guys. They are absolutely brilliant. And some of the musical performances we’ve had on have been remarkable. But a couple of things really stick out. One was a boy called Lloyd, who featured in 2014. I think he made a pretty big impact on everyone. And the other was when we were playing the Million Pound Drop for Stand Up to Cancer. We showed a video about a guy who had a brain tumour, and then we were back in the studio, and about to play the game, and Jimmy Carr just said “Can we stop for a moment? I know that guy.” He’d not seen the video before, and he knew the guy who it was about. He had no idea. And all of a sudden, the whole thing just became so much more real for all of us.

What message do you have to all of those who have supported SU2C and given so generously in the past?

People have been so, so generous in the past, and I want to say the most enormous thank you for everyone who has given money to Stand Up to Cancer in the past. And I know people are asked for money so often, and there are so many good causes out there, but if people can, I would love them to give again. We are so, so close to some massive breakthroughs – we’ve also had some massive breakthroughs since the last Stand Up to Cancer, but we are making real progress against this disease. And one in two of us will get cancer at some point in our lives, so we’ve got to keep going. We just have to.