CHERRY Healey, 37, investigates the impact and rise of plastic surgery in a new, telling docuseries, Sex, Knives And Liposuction. The TV presenter and single mum of two tells Georgia Humphreys more

Is Sex, Knives and Liposuction the most challenging programme you've made to date?

I think so, yeah. It was challenging to make sense of it. Because for one woman, surgery will change their life and they will feel happy and they'll have wished they'd done it ten years earlier; whereas for another woman, it will ruin her life. And for another woman it's the best use of that £30,000. And for another woman, that will stop her travelling the world and buying a flat. There is not one rule.

What about the topic of surgery interested you most?

It's the fact that the kind of surgery we're talking about on this show, really, isn't the kind of surgery people get for discomfort, for things that really bothered them. This is very much cosmetic surgery - plastic surgery. The surgery that's really popular at the moment, which is a perfectly nice-looking girl spending a lot of money and going through a lot of pain to look better.

Tell us about some of the things that shocked you?

A breast lift and a pump. In Brazil, we went to this institute where they do cut-price surgery but it's by students. Let that sink in. It's like surgery on the NHS - it's much cheaper and the queue is a mile long. And you just know what's going to happen to them. I've been in that surgery and I've watched someone's breast being cut open and a big bit of plastic being shoved in, so it's hard not to feel protective of those women. But I don't want to be patronising, because a lot of them have made that choice open-eyed.

Where is your head at now, in terms of how confident you're feeling. Are you dating again?

I've got a boyfriend. I love him, he's dreamy. It's really exciting. But when I was first single, after my divorce, two things changed how I feel about my body. One, I had my daughter. When I was 30, I thought, 'I've really got to knock this body hatred on the head' because it's been following me around like a bad smell. It started to become just who I was. Another thing is, it's such a short life. Do I want to be on my death bed at 88 and think I spent 90 per cent of my mental power on wanting to look like a Victoria's Secret model when I'm not even a Victoria's Secret model? I don't need to look like that, so why am I obsessing about not having an ice cream?

Has making this show changed the way you feel about yourself, then?

It's been really interesting because the more I got prodded by plastic surgeons, the more protective I got of myself. I was like, 'Get away from me, I'm fine thank you very much'. And also, 'You don't even know me; I'm great and I'm a really good mum and I've got other things about me that are really great'. I have had two kids so leave my body alone.

So is it fair to say the show has put you off wanting surgery?

Do you know what? I have to admit when I saw Megan (Barton-Hanson, Love Island) and I found out how much surgery she'd had, I wanted the number of her surgeon. That man must have a queue around the block. My head will always turn; you have strong days where you feel like Wonder Woman and then you have other days where you go, 'I want fillers and everything!' That's just how it is to be human.

What subject matter would you like to explore next?

I feel so lucky to be able to talk about these things, because very, very few channels are commissioning programmes where women talk about a slightly more female-leaning subject - but in depth and with intelligence. And I'm not saying I'm intelligent, but [it's done] with depth and complexity, rather than just brushing over it and being silly. I'm not going to tell you my ideas because then someone will steal them, but I think it's a shame how few channels are championing women's shows like this.

Do we need more female presenters?

Yes, don't you think? And also, one woman's success is not another woman's demise. In fact, a woman's success often means other women's successes. So I like that women are understanding, that we're not against each other. Because we've been taught that we're in competition with each other. No. If a woman is running a company, she's hiring women, and she's teaching other women how to run companies. We impact each other so much.

  • Sex, Knives And Liposuction starts on W on Thursday, September 20.