TOTP: First of all, do you have any bad sleep-related habits that you'd like to share with us? Do you sleepwalk, do you talk in your sleep, do you drool...?
Maria: Hahaha! That's embarrassing. Oh my God. Occasionally, I'll wake up in the morning and I'll see something like a sandwich or something, and I'm like, "God, how did that get there?" And I try to think back - did I get up in the night? So maybe I do sleepwalk, I don't know. But I see bottles of water, and sweets, and biscuits - the biscuit tin, that comes upstairs - and so I think something happens. Unless my husband's been putting it there - or a ghost! [Laughs.] But that's the only thing. What else?
Sleeping habits. I'm the kind of person that has to put my foot on whoever's in the bed with me. Hahahaha! Sometimes my best mate comes over and if my husband's not there, she insists on sleeping in my bed and not on the sofa, and I always just have to wrap my legs around someone, because my feet always get so cold. So that's a bad habit, yeah.

TOTP: So if someone's sharing your bed, what's the worst thing they could do if they want to annoy you?
Maria: To grab the duvet off me. I HATE when the duvet - even if it's just half of my leg, I just like it all to cover all of me. So that's quite irritating, and my husband's got a habit of doing that - just wrapping it around himself, forgetting that there's somebody lying next to him! [Giggles.]

TOTP: Which of these would be more embarrassing for you - talking in your sleep in public, drooling in your sleep in public, or snoring loudly in public?
Maria: Oh God! I was doing Party In The Park on Sunday, and two of my friends, who were my backing singers, were with me, and I've got a habit like as soon as I get in the car I just nod off. And my head goes back, my mouth is wide open, and I don't know if there's dribble that goes down, but they took some horrendous pictures. I'm like, "you guys had better delete it all or I'm sacking you, now!" [Giggles.]
TOTP: And you'll see them in a minute for sale on ebay to the highest bidder.
Maria: Yeah! So that's my problem, I always just fall asleep in the car and my mouth goes wide open, catching flies. Not a good look!

TOTP: What's the last thing you can remember dreaming about?
Maria: Umm...God! Do you know what? The last person I spoke to was my manager and he was telling me about the Outkast listening party on...Thursday, I think it is, and he said it's going to be on the Millennium Wheel and also on a boat on the Embankment, so I dreamt that I was on a boat going up the Embankment because I think it was the last thing that I spoke about. I was on this wheel, and I was with loads of people but I was on my own. It was really weird. So I think it was just stuck in my mind from the night before, basically. But yeah, it sounds like fun!

TOTP: We were going to ask you next when you last feel asleep at an inappropriate moment, but you've sort of already answered that one...
Maria: At an inappropriate moment? I fell asleep in a club once, and that's really bad. The music was pumping and blasting, and I was like, off...
TOTP: Were you sleeping up against the speaker?
Maria: Yeah! Close to it, anyway. My friends are always like, "Maria, you can fall asleep ANYWHERE!" But when you're tired, you're tired. Your bed's calling. Hahaha!
TOTP: It's a good skill to have.
Maria: Yeah! I could sleep through a bomb - well, I wouldn't say that, but I can sleep through music, lots of music.

TOTP: Do you have any showbiz demands to ensure a good night's sleep? Do you demand an eye-mask or complete silence or anything lke that?
Maria: I just like the telly on in the background. A lot of people don't like that, but it kind of just lulls you to sleep a little bit. I have it really low. What else? That's pretty much it. Actually, and a cup of camomile tea, I love camomile and vanilla or camomile and apple.

TOTP: Do you know the correct procedure for dealing with someone who's sleepwalking?
Maria: No! [Giggles.] You'll need to tell me.

TOTP: We looked it up yesterday, and there's a variety of theories, but apparently despite the myth, it is safe to wake them up, but it's advised that you don't because they'll probably be confused and may get angry, so it's best to just guide them back into bed if you can
Maria: Oh God! That's quite funny.
TOTP: Apparently there are reports of some people lashing out if they get woken up.
Maria: Are your eyes open, when you're sleepwalking?
TOTP: Apparently you do have your eyes open, but you don't usually have your arms outstretched like in the cartoons.
Maria: Wow.
TOTP: You learn something new every day!
Maria: I'm telling you!

TOTP: When was the last time you had a myoclonic twitch?
Maria: What the hell is that? [Giggles.]
TOTP: It's when you have one of those muscular convulsions in your sleep that makes you wake up with a start.
Maria: Oh, yeah! Yeah yeah yeah. I haven't had one of those - they're quite scary, aren't they? I haven't had one of those in a couple of months, actually. So it's when you dream that you're falling?
TOTP: Yes, or tripping or something.
Maria: Yeah, yeah! Oh my days! On the sofa the other day, I think. I fell asleep on the sofa and, yeah, it happened to me a few days ago. It's a really weird feeling - it just really freaks you out, doesn't it?

TOTP: Do you find it difficult to sleep in strange rooms when you're travelling?
Maria: Not really, no. I just get comfortable, and...my head goes back and my mouth opens! Hahaha!
TOTP: Aww, because the next question was going to be 'Have you ever been to Seattle', so you would have been...sleepless in Seattle...
Maria: Hahaha! Um, no, but I've seen the movie. It's very nice! Very romantic.

TOTP: You stayed with Sharon Osbourne in LA when you were doing The X Factor.
Maria: Yes I did.
TOTP: Is her house a creepy place to be at night?
Maria: No, it's really cosy! Apart from the crucifixes on the wall. There's loads going up the staircase. It represents all the dead dogs - well, the dogs that have died, because the area that they live in, they have coyotes and other animals that eat your pets. So that was the only thing, it was a bit like, "....oooh." No, it's a really cosy house. Outside, as well, especially in the night-time, she's got this big fireplace and you can actually sit around it, so that's really nice. It's quite lovely and cosy and not scary at all.