Are you healthy?

I must be honest: not very. I have a pacemaker, quite severe chest problems, asthma; I've had five new knees and a new shoulder; I've lost my hearing because I was on one of the marvellous non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but big doses can cause tinnitus and make you deaf. What else? I had cancer. I found a thickening in one breast and because I'd been telling women for years to go to their doctor, I thought I'd better. I opted for a double mastectomy - I had no chemotherapy, no radiotherapy. In fact, arthritis, which is my biggest problem now, is infinitely more uncomfortable, painful and unpleasant than cancer was, in my personal experience.

Ever spent a night in hospital?

In 2003 I went into hospital with a chest infection - it's the damage done in childhood when I lived in smoky, dirty, wonderful old grey London. The rare side-effect of the drug they gave me is tendonitis, especially the Achilles tendons. I tripped getting out of a cab and heard it go, so I went back to have it sewn. I went in at 7am and they said I'd be home at six that evening. I woke up three weeks later in intensive care. There'd been complications. They'd sent for Des and the kids twice to say their final farewells.

Do you worry about your weight?

I was a big lady before 2003. I was fed up with the constant 'Thou shalt be thin' and I thought: to hell with them. Everyone tells me I looked all right. I dressed the bulk with care. I lost a lot of weight after I got ill and someone said to me, 'Watch it love, when you get to this age you choose your face or your figure.'

How much do you drink?

If I never saw it again I wouldn't miss it.

And smoke?

I gave up during each of my pregnancies. When my second child was five, he came to me with a Kleenex tissue and said: 'Mummy, blow through this and you'll see all the nasty things in your lungs. Don't smoke, Mummy, you'll die.' I thought: 'A child of five is telling me something perfectly sensible and intelligent and I'm not listening. I'm giving up right now.'

Are you happy?

Mostly, yes. Des, my husband, makes me very happy. He's my pole star - we've been married for 51 years.

Is sex important to you?

Oh God yes, it doesn't go away. The great actress Mrs Patrick Campbell was asked that question when she was about 70 and she said: 'My dear, you'll have to ask someone much older than I am.'

Have you ever taken an antidepressant?

Of course. I had postnatal depression with each of my three children. The first was mild: my daughter was premature so I couldn't get my hands on her straightaway and we bonded late. Adam was born early, but I was told I'd got my dates wrong and again it was difficult, and after Jay, my third son's birth, I was very depressed. I needed antidepressants for three months after Adam and rather longer after Jay.

· Claire Rayner is supporting Sense, the national deafblind charity's older people's campaign. Relatives of an older person with a sight and hearing loss can request the Good Life booklet on 0845 127 0068 or info@sense.org.uk