Suzi Perry is best known for fronting TV programme The Gadget Show but currently she is backing the new Fuelling Britain campaign.
I caught up with her to talk about the campaign, saving money and what lies ahead.
- You’re supporting the ‘Fuelling Britain’ campaign, can you tell us about it?
Yes, the Batchelors ‘Fuelling Britain’ campaign provides shoppers with a chance to win free fuel for a year via an on-pack promotion, so it’s a nice thing to be involved with.
You just have to go buy your Cup-A-Soup or pack of Super Noodles, and then go on the website www.batchelorsfuellingbritain.co.uk with your unique on pack code and you could win free fuel for a year, and daily winners can win a tank of fuel, so it’s a great campaign.
- Why did you get involved in the campaign? What’s the importance of ‘Fuelling Britain’ and why is it relevant at the moment?
A: I think that times are really tough at the moment for families and the new Batchelors research shows that a third of families admit to purchasing less food to pay for their fuel and I find that quite shocking.
So I thought this is a nice ray of sunshine when it comes to petrol because it’s so expensive at the moment, and families are finding it tough so I thought it was a good thing to get involved with.
- On the back of that, as we know everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment so do you have any personal tips about how we can make pennies go a little bit further, especially how to make your petrol tank last a little bit longer?
I’ve got some tips for making your money go a little bit further at the fuel pump. They’re very simple and very obvious but we’re all so busy that we tend to overlook these things.
So the number one tip would be to check your tyre pressures every month, because if they’re underinflated then your car requires more engine power, using more fuel and therefore costing you money. Revving the engine is an obvious one that costs money.
Your speed is important too: if you’re somebody that drives quite quickly and brakes quickly, that’s not as economical as driving in a steady, smooth manner. So think about the way that you drive as well. And another tip for saving money regarding fuel is the weight of your car.
If you have heavy things in the back of your car, whether it be your fella’s golf clubs, a bag of books or whatever it is, take it out because that’s slowing your car down and costing you money as well.
And finally think about the aerodynamics of your car- so even little things like having the windows open, the sunroof open, or the air-conditioning on that also uses fuel. So they might sound like small obvious things, but put them all together over twelve months you can save yourself some pennies.
- So as well as being a motoring expert, we know you're a big fan of gadgets and gizmos. So what is it that makes gadgets and gizmos so popular?
I think that they’ve become seemingly a necessity rather than a luxury in the digital generation. They’re supposed to make your life easier, and in some ways they do sometimes they don’t. But I think everyone loves a gadget these days.
- And talking about gadgets are there any new gadgets coming up that you can’t wait to get your hands on and give a try? Which ones stand out for you and why?
I’m very into photography and there's a reasonably new technology coming out called the ‘Lytro camera’ which possibly might be integrated into the new iPhone later on this year. It’s basically where you take a picture but you can focus it after you have taken the picture.
So it would work very well for small devices. I’d quite like to get my hands on that and have a little play and see how that works with the depths of fields and so on.
I’m going to an exciting launch tonight which is iPad 3 with Apple. They’re always good launches to go to. But im kind of excited about everything that’s coming out this year, but those are my two biggies I guess.
- You're famous for being one of the faces of BBC’s MotoGP. Do you miss doing that, or are you still involved in some ways?
I’m still in the motorcycle world, I still do work within that environment and I still see the guys and I obviously still follow the racing avidly on TV. I miss it desperately. I had to stop doing it because at the time I couldn’t do both The Gadget Show and MotoGP.
I’d done MotoGP and bike racing for almost 15 years and travelled round the world and I just couldn’t squeeze it in any longer into my lifestyle, so I thought it was time to probably stop.
But yeah I miss it every time I see a race- I think ’I should be there!’ but I still love it and I still watch it.
- And I know that you’re now based in France, or you split your time between the UK and France. How have you settled into life over there and what’s different about it from living say in the UK?
I still kind of feel like I live in the UK as well as France because I spend more time in the UK working than I do back at home in France. And it’s been a period of 5 and a half years of going backwards and forwards so it’s kind of been a slow burn.
I feel very comfortable in France. Obviously, you know, the weather is gorgeous, we live on the side of a mountain, it’s beautiful and I have a lovely house and a great family over there and I love all of those things - especially my cat.
But I’ll always be British and I always will need to come back here and at the moment I’m here every week, but even in the future when work slows down a bit I definitely will, I love Britain, I think when the sun is out there's nowhere better than the UK, just the sun could do with coming out a bit more!
- Finally what have you got coming up for the rest of this year? Have you got any exciting projects on the horizon?
This is a really exciting year for me because im getting to do some new projects. I’m not on The Gadget Show anymore so this Saturday I’m doing Let’s Dance For Sport Relief with Otis Deley and I wouldn’t have been able to have done that before so that’s really good fun.
I’m doing the Ideal Home Show in a few weeks’ time and I’ve got The Gadget Show Live in Birmingham. Hopefully I’m going to be doing a radio show as well.
I’ve got a few projects that are quite far along the line, but not far enough to talk about, so definitely be back on a regular basis on screens soon but until then I’m kind of enjoying doing lots of different things.
Suzi Perry is supporting the Batchelors 'Fuelling Britain' campaign, which provides shoppers with a chance to win free fuel for a year, and free tanks of fuel, via an on-pack promotion lasting 14 weeks from March 1st.
For more information and full terms and conditions visit www.batchelorsfuellingbritain.co.uk.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw