Ifirst met Paula Rego in 1985 – I came over from Portugal as an au pair to help with her husband [the artist Victor Willing] who had multiple sclerosis. Her children were grown up so I didn’t have to look after them. It was a great time. I got on with Paula from the start. I first set eyes on her as she was about to head out to the theatre – she was very glamorous. She said “Hello” briefly and added that she was sorry to be leaving and told me she’d see me later that evening or the following day. I went out and, when I got back, Paula was having a glass of champagne with one of her daughters, Vicky, and they invited me to have one – of course, I had several – and it was a great night.

Paula had the gift of making people feel at ease. She was a good listener, interested in what you said, she took time with people, was non-judgmental. We always spoke Portuguese together. I’m not sure if she missed Portugal but we’d talk a lot about it: the way Portuguese people behaved, the politics, the guilt and shame attaching to Catholicism, and we’d talk about being a woman.