MORE often than not, pictures of celeb mums on the school run usually involve them looking pristinely made-up and impeccably dressed, as they wave goodbye to their adorable offspring.

But according to presenter and singer Louise Redknapp, the results would be a lot less glossy if those cameras zoomed in on her at the school gates.

"Right now, ageing isn't majorly bothering me. The only thing I do notice is if I have a heavy night out, the next day, I really do look like total rubbish," she says, laughing.

Redknapp, a former member of Nineties girl group Eternal, has two sons, Charley, nine, and four-year-old Beau, with her husband, former footballer and current sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

"When I was in my 20s, I could always get away with it, you know, my hair in a ponytail and off I went. Now I'm at the school run going, 'God, I can't even look at the teachers, this is awful. I look shocking'."

It's this candour that makes the 38-year-old a perfect fit for Channel 4's new six-part consumer series How Not To Get Old.

The show sees Redknapp and co-host Anna Richardson, who previously presented Channel 4's The Sex Education Show, look into how we age and what we can do to keep ourselves looking younger for longer.

While Redknapp focuses on affordable natural fixes and pricier high street options, Richardson plumps for surgical solutions.

One of the non-invasive treatments she tries is the gruesomely-named vampire therapy, in which a therapist removes blood, takes out the plasma in the white blood cells and re-injects it around the eyes. It left Richardson with ghoulish purple bruises but she had to admit, it worked.

Redknapp, instead, tries facial yoga, acupuncture, cosmetics and dietary changes during the show. But having listened to Richardson and seen her smooth skin, she admits she's open-minded about going under the knife.

"I'm 38 and in another 10 years' time, my views on ageing will be very different," she says.

"I try my best to be healthy 90% of the time. Right now, I'll keep it as natural as I can for as long as I can. But I would never say never to surgery. I didn't go into this show going, 'Right, I'm all about the natural and I think anybody who has surgery is awful'.

"If I got to the stage in life when surgery was an option and an answer, I'd absolutely do it. I just wouldn't rush into it. It's not something that I would start with, I'd go through a few processes first to get there," she adds.

Looking at the star today, with her delicately flushed cheeks and subtly sun-streaked hair, it doesn't appear that she's aged much since she first came into the public eye more than two decades ago.

She was a founding member of Eternal, who had hits with Stay and Just A Step From Heaven, but left the group in 1995 and went on to have a successful solo career.

Since then, Redknapp, who celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary in June, has presented ITV's The Truth About Size Zero and is behind a new cosmetics range called Wild About Beauty.

But she's sympathetic to the pressures on women to look good.

"If anything, being in the job I'm in takes away the pressure, because you get the opportunity to look great when you do photo shoots," she says.

"You have amazing people doing your hair and make-up, and it almost takes you out of reality. You can appear to look so much better than you actually do."

She's eager to stress the show isn't about piling additional pressure on.

"There's something really beautiful about a woman in her 60s, who looks in her 60s, but is still beautiful and healthy and has great skin," says Redknapp. "I don't think we should ever forget that.

"I really champion women who aren't scared to look 50 or 60. We should never forget that it's not bad to look your age.

"I don't want to be afraid to look 38 and I don't want to be afraid to look 48. I just want to feel good for the age I am," she adds.

While 60 is still a long way off for Redknapp, when her husband recently turned 40, the reality of getting older certainly hit home. And, with her own big 4-0 fast approaching, the programme could have made her a bit paranoid, but her outlook remains balanced.

"I think you always have personal hang-ups, mine change weekly," she says. "As I've got older I feel more comfortable in my ability to trust what I think. I've worked for many years, I'm very self-sufficient, and I feel comfortable in my own skin."

HOW NOT TO GET OLD, C4, TONIGHT, 8PM

Louise's Anti-Ageing Tips

BEETROOT: "It's one of the most anti-

ageing foods you can eat."

COCONUT OIL: "Cooks with this instead of olive oil, because when you cook with that it turns into bad fat, which is ageing".

ACUPUNCTURE: "One thing I found that made my skin look great was acupuncture in my face. I loved it and would swear by it."

REGULAR EXERCISE: "It is not going to take away lines and wrinkles, but it is going to get your heart pumping and keep you healthy."