IN A MOVE that has surprised many who thought they knew her, a Dorset-based mother-of-two is this week appearing on Parkinson to talk about her love life, family and career.

Mrs Ritchie, 47, who lives in a secluded country house near Shaftesbury, stunned the seasoned chat-meister earlier this week when she turned up at his ITV studio for the pre-recorded interview wearing her work clothes; purple lace-up boots, a clinging vest and sporting a new hair-style.

Normally Madonna, as she sometimes likes to be known, prefers to wear a tracksuit and flat-cap, or a demure floral dress when she's feeding her chickens or promoting her children's books.

However, in an effort to help familiarise the music-buying public with her latest project, a song called Hung Up, which features part of the Abba tune Gimme Gimme Gimme, Madonna not only agreed to sing for Parky, but to talk to him exclusively for an hour about her private affairs.

She told him she fell for her husband, Guy after seeing him topless. "I saw him with his shirt off playing tennis and that was a big plus. And then I sat next to him at lunch and he was incredibly witty and that was another big plus."

Madonna was happy to admit that the key ingredient in her happy marriage was to; "Learn to say I'm sorry even when you don't mean it."

And she agreed that Mr Ritchie, who earns his living by directing gangster films, displayed a nonchalant attitude towards her: "A bit like my father," who prefers the music of Tony Bennett and Celine Dion to hers.

"He doesn't appreciate my subtleties, I think," she said.

Asked by Parkinson if she was a diva she replied: "I'm a very dramatic person and, yes, I probably had some big, spectacular tantrums. But I'm much more in control of my big fat ego."

However, she raised many laughs from the audience when she was asked about an alleged disagreement with Sir Elton John, who once accused her of miming instead of singing.

Parkinson asked her about her allegedly diva-like behaviour, reminding her that Sir Elton once shouted at his manager because the wind was too strong.

"Yeah, but..." Madonna mischievously replied, miming the action of a wig flying off, in a playful reference to the fact that Sir Elton used to wear one, before his apparent hair-weave.

To uproarious laughter from the audience, Madonna said: "I'm not going to go there, Elton is one of my closest friends."

If this is true, perhaps she will relish the chance to motor down from her rural home next summer, to listen to the musical concert he is going to hold at AFC Bournemouth's Fitness First Stadium, news of which was revealed this week in the Daily Echo.

See Madonna on Parkinson this Saturday on ITV1, starting at 9.45pm.

First published: November 11, 2005