I come from a quite poor working-class family background, a big family. There were seven of us; I’ve got three brothers and three sisters. I’m the sixth, I’ve got one brother younger than me. My dad was Canadian. My mum was English, from Cullingworth, really poor background; you know my mum struggled all her life. She did three jobs – she worked in the mills, she cleaned for people, she was an old people's help. My dad had mental health problems so although he worked very hard when we were younger, as he got a bit older in life he didn't really. I remember him being poorly most of the time – you know, very depressed, staying in the house all the time, not doing anything with his life and it was really hard for my mum. She really struggled.

My mum passed away when I was 13. My dad spent two years in his bedroom and then passed away as well. My mother had converted from being a Methodist to being a Catholic and she was a very very strong church goer. We were raised as quite strict Catholics. For me, it just meant we always had to go to church on Sundays and my mum tried to encourage us to pray before we went to sleep, not that any of us did that much, and just to live a good honest life really, to think about others before you think of yourself.