Stacey Solomon is giving me a tour of Pickle Cottage. Packets of crisps, pegged to a rail in the treats cupboard, stand at attention like soldiers on parade. The dog shelves contain wooden boxes labelled food, grooming, clothes, walkies and bedding. We pass a procession of gleaming kids’ trainers and head up the stairs. Hairbands are sorted by colour, natch, into jars.
And finally Solomon’s favourite things: her wardrobes. “I have my beiges in here, my pinks in this one and then this one for the greens and blues,” says the author, TV presenter and former X Factor finalist. “When I get up I normally think: ‘What colour do I want to wear?’, not: ‘What outfit?” As for her husband, the actor and presenter Joe Swash, his clothes are squeezed into one tiny wardrobe. “That’s all he gets, God love him.” Her voice rises gleefully and she bursts out laughing. As she often does.
