Ulrika Jonsson says the sun is her ''drug'' as she admits she sunbathes with ''reckless abandon''.

The television presenter insists tanning is in her ''DNA'' and she is obsessed with bronzing her body, whatever the consequences.

She shared: ''However, the fine weather we have been enjoying - right from the get-go in so many parts of the country, and especially where I live - has been an absolute boon, and I can honestly say it's been about the only thing that has kept me going ...

''So forgive me if I top up my tan and love every moment of this hot sunshine with reckless abandon ...

''I will not make any excuses for being a sunbather, a sun lover, nay, a sun worshipper. It's in my DNA and will never leave me.''

And Ulrika insists she has no ''qualms about accepting'' her bronzed look and quipped she would probably look younger without it.

She added to The Sun newspaper: ''Fortunately for me, I tan easily, go a dark brown and I have no qualms about accepting that I look like Madge Harvey in Benidorm (OK, possibly a bit older) ... With brownness comes a whole host of dangers and consequences - the lesser one, perhaps, being wrinkles .... And yes, I've noticed a significant increase in the number of lines on my face and I know full well that if I hadn't exposed my skin so emphatically, I would doubtless look five to ten years younger ... My best friend, Laura, who shares my passion for the sun, always jokes, 'No one wants to die pale.' And it's true. I don't nag smokers nor drinkers for their habits. My drug of choice is the sun and as I've lived by the sword, I shall, no doubt, die by it - as long as it's in the sun.''