OLYMPIC rower Katherine Grainger took gold at the London 2012 Games alongside Anna Watkins in the double sculls.

She is Britain’s most successful female rower and the only female athlete to win medals at four consecutive Olympic Games.

She was awarded the CBE in the 2013 New Year Honours.

Katherine is now a Sporting Ambassador for the Jaguar Academy of Sport. For more on Katherine visit www.katherinegrainger.com or follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KatherineGraingerOfficial For more on the Jaguar Academy of Sport visit www.jaguar.co.uk/about-jaguar/academy-of-sport/index.html

What was your first car?

I remember I didn’t have a car for ages as I never used one when I was at university. But when I made it into the rowing team I needed a car that meant I could drive from Edinburgh down to south-east England where the rowing team was based and I had to be able to put my boat on the roof. So it was an old Ford Mondeo estate that was a dark purple and I spent a lot of long journeys in. I loved it and wore it into the ground.

The Northern Echo:

How many times did it take to pass your test?

I passed first time much to my family’s relief. My mum and dad shared in the teaching and I remember it was the one area of growing up that I saw my mum really lose her patience. With everything else my mum has been the relaxed, positive, chilled out mentor, but with learning to drive I think I pushed her to the limit - she couldn’t understand why I was taking so long to master things like the hill start and reverse parking and soon handed me over to my dad. My big sister had passed first time, as had my mum and dad, so I felt I had to try to keep the family tradition.

Who would be your ideal fantasy passenger and where would you go?

The Northern Echo: Skyfall

I watched Skyfall again recently, the most recent James Bond film, and I decided I’d like to be M - as played by Judi Dench - when she gets driven by Daniel Craig as James Bond up to Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland in a 1965 Aston Martin DB5. Of course as this is my fantasy then I get to do the driving and 007 can sit beside me making witty comments. If need be I do have the ejector seat button…

What is your dream car?

See above or below!

How would you describe your driving style?

Fairly fast, but safe.

What are you listening to?

I’ve just created a new playlist for the hours and hours of training I have ahead, but it will also be perfect for those long relaxed drives to Scotland. I have a very wide area of musical interests so there is something from every decade from the 1960s to the present charts. And the joy of a new playlist is that every new song is a surprise!

What do you drive now?

The Northern Echo: Jaguar F-Type

I currently have the absolute pleasure of driving a Jaguar F-Type. Not only is a stunning car to look at but also it is a beautiful car to drive. It’s fast but smooth and when I start the engine it roars like a throaty wild animal. I love it. I just wish it were mine – it’s currently on loan from Jaguar. I am one of their sporting ambassadors for the incredible Academy of Sport that Jaguar run. The Academy supports rising stars across a variety of sport by guiding, mentoring, advising and also financially supporting them.