PETER NOONE - his real name - was for years Herman of Herman's Hermits. His many gold discs with them included: "I'm Into Something Good," "Just A Little Bit Better," "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," "Wonderful World," "Henry The Eighth," and "Mrs. Brown."
    Born and brought up in Manchester, he started his career even earlier - as a child star in "Coronation Street."
    Now married and launching out on a solo career with "Oh You Pretty Thing" Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone - which is what appears on his birth certificate - is still only 23.

Do you speak English or French at home?
    I was probably the worst pupil at school - I just learned the verbs. Foreigners are always very good at languages, but we aren't. Since I've married, my conversational French has improved.
    We only speak in English when we have guests - it seems more natural to speak in French to Mireille. In fact, our dog Mickie doesn't understand English - only French!

What hobbies do you have?
    My biggest hobby is travelling, and it's the same with my wife. Just lately, we've seen more of places like Sheffield and Liverpool than Acapulco, though! I seem to spend most of my life in Acton these days - which I never thought would happen to me.

What was the last book you read?
    I don't read an awful lot now but I used to. I've just read a terrible book about the Boer War - I can't even remember the title or the author, just that it was awful.

What about the cinema or the theatre?
    We went out to the cinema the other night for the first time in ages to see "The Lost Valley" with Michael Caine and Omar Sharif. We quite liked it, but it was bloody and vicious.
    I like the theatre very much but when we have an evening free, there are other things we like to do.

Such as?
    Well, when I get back from rehearsals we usually have dinner and then Mireille and I take Mickie for a walk in Hyde Park. It's so lovely in the summer evenings to do that. Or we just enjoy staying at home and watching TV. That's quite a luxury, too.

What was your reaction to being on "This Is Your Life?"
    It was horrible the first moment. You know you're supposed to say something, but I couldn't think of anything! Later on you know you would have liked to have said, 'This is the most wonderful thing that has happened to me.'

Were you surprised at some of the guests they brought on?
    Not surprised exactly. I didn't expect to see Val Doonican or Peter Adamson from "Coronation Street," and they even flew Burl Ives over from America which I would never have expected. But it was a bit worrying, really.

How do you mean?
    Well, after the show Eamonn has a little party upstairs when everyone connected with the show has a few drinks. I was saying to him that it rather worried me in case people thought now they had 'done' my life that I had achieved all my goals - which I haven't.
    But it was great fun. They re-ran the show and we sat back and watched it all over again. They gave us a copy of the programme which we keep on re-running here.

Are you worried in any other way about what people might think?
    Not what people might think, no. But, for instance, I've got lots of gold records, and really hate having them around because it's like an old man of 60 who used to be a running champion - but now he can't run.

Where do you keep them?
    I've got all the discs hanging up in a small room in the flat, but I don't display them in the lounge or anything like that. They represent the past and I'm interested in what I shall achieve in the future.

What is important to you?
My health. You see so many people of only 24 or 25 who are looking really run to seed. I don't intend to let myself go like that. I don't smoke any more - it just seemed sensible to give it up. I look after myself much more now than I did.

What was the turning point?
    It was being on the Royal Variety Show once with Andy Williams. In the morning we had our band call, and I can see him now. He just went up on stage and sang, and he was as relaxed as could be with no strain in his voice at all.
    He sang as well for his band call as most singers do at a performance. After seeing that, I really decided to take care.

So what did you do?
    He doesn't smoke - neither do I. He goes to bed early to keep himself fit, and so do I. I never have a late night now before an important show, but I used to.

Do you collect anything?
    Not particularly, though Mireille is very good at picking up antiques. We've got two cast bronze statues which she found in a fusty old antique shop in Great Yarmouth, and a screen inlaid with mother of pearl which we brought back from Hong Kong.

What are your personal tastes in music?
    Very varied. I'm changing all the time. When we were first married, we went out and bought masses of classical records - many of which we haven't played; though we're both very fond of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Do you hoard anything?
    Nothing. I don't think I've got anything in the world really that I had before we were married. Certainly, I have no clothes older than that - and I'm pretty sure I have very few other possessions, either.

What sorts of food do you like?
    French, of course! No, joking apart, I've really been educated in food since I married. French cooking is so different from English. I was brought up on fish and chips, frozen foods, cake mixes - traditional English fare.
    But the French way is quite different. You can taste all the different flavours because the food is carefully cooked, and no one would ever dream of drowning a French meal in HP or tomato sauce.

Who does the cooking at home?
    Mireille's mother does, usually. Her evening meal is the culinary highlight of the day. She leaves the flat before I'm even up in the morning to go shopping for the freshest vegetables and meat.
    Then in the afternoon she starts to prepare the meal. She's from Alsace, and has many special recipes which are quite fantastic.