Why did you start working with the mental health charity Mind?

It stemmed from my late sister having killed herself, partly as a result of schizophrenia. I started doing stories on mental health, and I became a bit of a thorn in the side of governments.

Does the mental health system fail black people?

I don't even think we can say fail. In order to say fail, you've got to have tried. It happens that a lot of young black males use marijuana to self-medicate, the police see that as a legal issue, so they put them in prison. Young white men tend to self-medicate with alcohol - they have their own problems - but alcohol is not a legal issue. And then there are the taboos around talking about mental illness in some cultures. I've come across people who have said there is less stigma attached to saying your son is in jail than saying your son is in an acute ward with a mental illness.

You've spent time in psychiatric hospitals yourself.

There is a sad fashion for whipping in and out of rehab. Kerry Katona has got bipolar so she's in for two weeks, like it's Champneys. I would bloody well think twice about going to the Priory - I wouldn't feel safe somewhere that tends to pop up in the gossip columns so often.

What kind of time did you have on antidepressants?

I only went on them once. I didn't while I was in hospital [after a breakdown in 1995], because I was breastfeeding. I asked, "What does the research show you about the effect on a baby?" and they couldn't tell me. It was ironic that while everyone was questioning whether I was sane enough to be a mother, I was the only person questioning whether antidepressants would harm my baby. In early '98 I dipped back into depression and antidepressants gave me a respite, but the worst thing was coming off them. I'd make it illegal to prescribe antidepressants on their own.

Have you encountered any racism in the TV industry?

Don't start me on racism in television. You should talk to my business partner, because as a white male, he will often see things that I don't; people wait until I've left the room. It's a difficult thing, because it is not just from one side.

Are you talking about the recent interview in the Voice newspaper, where you said you'd never had a relationship with a black man?

Yes. I have never had so many misquotes to fit somebody else's agenda. They said to me, "How come you've never had any black partners?" I was born in England in 1957, I left England for Africa at four, I came back from Africa at nine. "Why didn't you date any black men in Africa?" Er, because it would have been paedophilia. Then I came to Norfolk. Jesus, look around, find another black person here. Then I was the first black person on Australian TV.

All my adult life I have been in white areas, but it's written up like I've purposely chosen never to date black men.

· Read the response from the Voice's editor here

Where have you encountered more racism - in Australia or the UK?

When I first went out to Australia, I thought it was the most racist place in the world. Every day was a struggle. It was blatant "send her back where she came from" stuff. But I started rating, and the thing about the Australians is once you've battled through and made it, they don't care. It's like class: there is no class, you can be as rough as guts, but you make your money and you can sit next to the Queen. In England you'll always be on the outside.

Are shows like yours and Jeremy Kyle's "human bear-baiting"?

Jeremy Kyle comes from a totally different angle. I have two or three pages [of notes] on each guest, and a psychological profile on all of them. I do a lot of assessing. We have three qualified counsellors, and often we work with the guest for much longer than goes on air. I understand that Mr Kyle has a card - that's all he gets. He doesn't know what a person's upbringing was. I can tell when I watch his guests, and he is calling someone a slut and a sleeparound. I never label the person. My thing is conflict resolution.

So yes, there might be conflict, but we resolve it.

· Read the response from ITV's Director of Daytime and Lifestyle here.

· Trisha Goddard is a patron of Mind. Trisha: As I Am is published by John Blake on April 14, price £17.99. Hear more of the interview at theguardian.com/audio