I'd never rule out a TV comeback, reveals Anne

"I've been enjoying my retirement a lot," she said. "I've had a very lazy year. And I'm still quite happy to be lazy."

But the glamourous 61-year-old admitted that even as she enjoys her new freedom, she has been discussing potential TV projects with producers.

"I have talked to producers about documentaries. It's obviously an area I have no experience in," she said.

"I'm particular interested in one project but we'll have to see if anything comes of it."

But Anne has no desire to return to the daily grind.

Restricted

"I like not having a job. I'm not suggesting that anyone wants to give me one, but it's nice to be involved in projects," she said.

"My life was very restricted when I was reading the news. There were a lot of different things happening but a large portion of the day was always set in stone. But now I have a great mix."

Anne has just come back from a sun holiday in the Caribbean with partner and restaurateur Dan McGrattan.

She says she was relieved to escape the dark and gloomy Irish winter, adding: "I have done a lot of travelling in the last year. I was just in Jamaica, the beaches there are amazing and the weather was great.

"It was kind of a once off – let's face it, you don't go to Jamaica every five minutes.

"I sampled the odd cocktail, as you do. Coming back to this weather was a bit of a shock."

Anne was speaking at Eircom's latest Phone Watch Report and said the issue of security is one close to her heart after she was robbed at Christmas several years ago

"I have been burgled. It's a scary thing. It's very disconcerting. The thing people take can be of very little value but have huge emotional significance.

"Someone broke in to my house at Christmas. It was very ironic because for once I had done all my Christmas shopping early – all the presents were wrapped.

"They just took all the presents. I couldn't believe it – it was a real sickener."

hnews@herald.ie