If you think you know Susannah Constantine you may be surprised to learn the truth. That she made her name as a ‘style guru’ from What Not to Wear, is actually the least interesting thing about her.

Hers is a tale full to the brim with extraordinary anecdotes. From lavatory dramas with Princess Margaret, to behind-the-scenes power struggles between Thatcher and the Queen at Balmoral and eye-opening sex-club etiquette with pop royalty – her social landscape has been nothing, if not varied.

But appearances are deceptive and beneath it all, life had a darker side: her mother’s bipolar disorder, her father’s inability to cope and her own subsequent alcoholism. Somehow she had to forge her own life, away from the expectations of others.

Told with gobsmacking honesty and great dollops of humour, Ready For Absolutely Nothing is essential reading for anyone who loves a good memoir but secretly just wants to read the naughty bits.