Emotional ties: singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor on her Ebay addiction and Swarovski-encrusted leotard

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

This Blythe doll is from the 1970s. She has a head the size of an orange and a body like Barbie. I spotted her in a photo book when I was 18 and tracked her down on Ebay, kick-starting my Ebay addiction. She wears a replica of the dress I’m in on the cover of my album Wanderlust.

After I gave an interview saying I’d like to try taxidermy, a woman stopped me in the street and said, ‘I’m running a course next week.’ My husband Richard [Jones, bassist for The Feeling] and I went and we’ve had these stuffed mice on our mantelpiece ever since.

I am happy to be cheap and cheerful with some things, but when it comes to shoes, I buy quality, then wear them into the ground. There’s a lot of kicking and stomping in my shows. I’ve had these Miu Miu and Prada pairs for about ten years.

This giant ice-cream sundae was another great Ebay find. Richard is very tolerant of the various things that just seem to ‘turn up’ in our house. I love kooky life-size objects that you wouldn’t know existed.

I wore this Swarovski-encrusted leotard when I was on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. It’s now one of my tour outfit staples. I put a chiffon dress over it and when I twist and twirl you can see the shimmer underneath.

I inherited this picture of Queen Victoria from my maternal grandparents. It was in their hallway and as a child I was terrified of it. I had to put it in a similar place, next to my front door. It makes me feel that my grandparents are watching over us.

I wasn’t into dolls as a child, and I never intended to be a collector, but I like the fact that these are quirky and come from places I have travelled to: Poland, Ukraine, India, Korea… My children can play with the dolls, but they freak them out a bit!

This sign by Carousel Lights is a copy of the tattoo I have on my arm. I adore it. Family is the centre of my world. I’m close to my parents and siblings. I see and speak to them all the time, and want my four boys to be the same with each other.