Sue Perkins shares Celebrity Big Brother inspired isolation tips: 'Don't punish yourself'

Sue Perkins has shared her tips for self-isolation, saying she went “loco” in the Celebrity Big Brother house.

The former Great British Bake Off host, 50, signed up for Celebrity Big Brother in 2002, when she joked that Les Dennis was “the dark lord of the song” and called Melinda Messenger a “Vulcan”.

“I went slightly loco,” Perkins told The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2.

She advised: “Routine is pretty good. I normally don’t have routine or structure but I suppose work provides it and you have to suddenly provide your own.

“Don’t punish yourself. Don’t go: ‘At 9am I’m doing Latin and I’m learning Spanish, then I’m trampolining for six hours.’

“It’s a gentler routine of self-care."

Perkins admitted: “I’m not very good at that and I find myself very dull, so this is a kind of living hell.

“But just give yourself a break if you’re struggling. Humans are very sociable and this is a very unnatural time.

“Get a breather as and when you can, bearing in mind the guidelines, and just try to be decent to yourself and everyone around you as we’re all in this together.”

During her time on Celebrity Big Brother, Perkins was the third to be evicted from the house, leaving on day nine.

Meanwhile, comedy partner Mel Giedroyc had some advice of her own: watch a David Essex sitcom.

“It’s a little-known sitcom from 1988 called The River, starring David Essex,” she said. “I’ve watched the whole thing back-to-back.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.