How the Goddess won her battles Diana Moran has been in the wars, but now she makes the most of every day, says Cate Devine

Her blonde hair is beautifully coiffed, she's model thin, her posture is perfect - and her face, though lightly lined, lacks the deep folds, jowly cheeks and double chins that are the fate of many women once they hit 40, never mind 60. Moran's skin is taut and her eyes bright.

She insists it's all natural: when she was chosen to be the face of Oil of Ulay Pro-Vital's global advertising campaign at age 56, she had to sign a legal document confirming that she hadn't had cosmetic surgery in order for her endorsement of the moisture cream for mature skins to be bullet-proof. She is adamant that she has not gone under the knife in the nine ensuing years either.

"Much of it is down to good genes, " says the former fashion model turned health and fitness TV presenter known as the Green Goddess.

"That bit is down to the luck of the draw. But there are other ways of staving off the years." This includes keeping to a strict regime of eating good food, avoiding the sun, regularly doing face-specific exercise, or "facial gymnastics", as she puts it - and retaining a positive attitude to life.

"Remember, " she says, "the face is the only part of the body where the muscles are directly attached to the skin rather than the bones.

This means that your state of mind quickly etches itself onto your face and, if you're not careful, can result in deep lines.

Too many wrinkles and frowns are the result of stored up tension and stress - so learn to eliminate tension through movement."

All very well, you might think, for someone who has led a privileged and glamorous life:

Moran is now fitness consultant at various upmarket establishments including Le Sport Hotel, St Lucia; La Source, Granada;

Page & Moy holiday cruises, and the QE2 and Canberra.

But her life has not been a bowl of cherries.

When Diana was just 10 years old, she came home from school to find her mother dead at the age of 47. It turned out that she had been the unwitting carrier of Factor V Leiden, the hereditary blood coagulation disorderwhich can be associated with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), blood clots in the lungs, strokes, heart attack and preeclampsia.

Diana herself was diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago and underwent a bilateral mastectomy. But it was only two years ago, after undergoing gene therapy to ascertain whether she was at risk of further breast cancer, that she discovered that she too carried Factor V Leiden.

"They said the good news was that I didn't carry the breast cancer gene, but the bad news was that I did carry Factor V Leiden, which means that I'd been at high risk throughout my pregnancies.

"I did have several miscarriages. But the risk is less now than it was when I was young. I just have to take aspirin every day and wear support tights."

Diana has also had a partial thyroidectomy after cancerous cluster cells were found in her throat, and has a six-inch horizontal scar to prove it.

"That affected me very badly.

At that stage I was very into fashion modelling, television presenting and so forth. It was my friend (BBC news reporter) Kate Adie who helped me get into radio instead. I started using my voice instead of my looks."

Her first marriage ended abruptly and traumatically. Her second, to John Moran, lasted 27 years before divorce, and they have two sons and four grandchildren. They are still friends, though she lives alone.

Now Diana works for Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie Fund and the National Osteoporosis Society. This last came about when she thought she had osteoporosis following a fall.

On top of all that, just four years ago skin cancerwas discovered on her legs. Yet, it is not in her nature to get too down in the dumps. "When something goes wrong in your life, it's a great challenge to try to find a way to turn it to your advantage, " she insists. "I feel I've been given a second chance in life and that every day is important."

She eats well - muesli and fruit for breakfast, tuna and wholewheat bread for lunch, and fish for dinner. White wine or champagne plays a part in her highly sociable life.

"I aim to do something good every day in my work, by helping somebody, by painting a nice picture, doing some gardening or sewing. I'm a very visual person and letting my eyes drop onto something I've done well is pleasing to me. It's like daily therapy." She does her facial gymnastics twice a week.

The worst thing the older woman can do is allow herself to get set in her ways, she says.

"Wear good colours, keep exercising, get a computer and learn how to surf the internet so that you can keep in touch with young people, " she smiles.

Diana has just received the cancer all-clear following her annual MRI scan. "I have many reasons to be happy to be alive, " she beams. Living proof, indeed, that learning to turn negatives into positives can work miracles.

Fresh Face - Avoid Surgery with the Natural Facelift, by Diana Moran, (Hamlyn, pounds-12.99) is published on April 15.