roadcaster, writer, comedian and activist Sandi Toksvig, 62, has worked on stage, screen and radio for 40 years. She was born in Denmark, moved to the UK aged 14 and studied at Cambridge University. She began her TV career on children’s show No.73, chaired Radio 4’s News Quiz for a decade, has helmed the BBC panel show QI since 2016 and stepped down as co-host of The Great British Bake Off earlier this year. She also co-founded the Women’s Equality party in 2015. Her memoir Between the Stops is out now in paperback. Your memoir is based around a bus journey through London. How did you hit upon that format? I find some memoirs a bit boring, especially the chapters about their early lives. I didn’t want to write that kind of book. To be honest, I didn’t really want to write about myself at all – I’m too self-conscious and find it all rather narcissistic – so instead I did something more eclectic. What do you love about bus travel? It’s a combination of that airlock you get, the wonderful quiet time between where you start and where you need to be, and the anonymity of bus travel. Absolutely nobody talks to each other. I get the front right-hand seat if I can. I’m 62 but still pretend I’m driving. Peter Cook said that the best way to prevent British people from sitting beside you on public transport is to smile winningly as they approach. Perhaps pat the seat too. They run a mile. You write about the landmarks that you pass. Does it infuriate you that women are under-represented in public spaces? Women have been terribly overlooked and underestimated. Over and under, if you will. It’s depressing because there’s such a litany of fantastic women throughout history. Yet the streets are mostly named after famous men. Statues are mostly men who did marvellous things on horses. Half of humanity is under-represented, so in my small way, I suggest looking at things differently and telling other stories. You write movingly about your struggles when coming out as gay. Was that tough to revisit? It was but I thought it was important to share because it’s still not fine for many people today. My wife [psychotherapist Debbie] works for a charity that supports LGBT people and there are still horror stories, people who are shunned by their families or excluded in the workplace. The fact that we have same-sex marriage doesn’t mean there isn’t terrible homophobia out there. I felt a duty to tell people that even though I’m on TV laughing, joking and having a good time, it wasn’t always like that. It was terrible and scarring but I’m still here. You can get through it. I still experience homophobia. It’s an ongoing thing. I just wish people would calm down. I’m happily married and don’t frighten the horses – surely that’ll do? Are you still in touch with your Bake Off co-stars? It seems like another lifetime, does it not? I spoke to Prue a couple of days ago and Noel last week. They’re carrying on just fine without me. I suspect meringue is drying even as we speak. Will you feel a pang of jealousy when the new series airs without you? Darling, I didn’t watch it when I was in it, so I think that’s unlikely [laughs]. I had a lovely three years but wanted to do other things. I’m pragmatic in that way. You only have a limited time in your life to devote to different projects. I grow more aware of that with age. Is it dispiriting that you’re the first and still only female host of a mainstream panel show? It seems mad to me. I don’t know why it’s believed that only a boy can sit in the main chair. It’s not that difficult. They tell you the answers beforehand. There are lots of brilliant funny women – Sara Pascoe, Holly Walsh, Cally Beaton and Victoria Coren-Mitchell, to name just a few – capable of hosting shows like that. Isn’t another bugbear of yours that older women get ignored in restaurants? Yes, it doesn’t matter how famous you are. Sheila Hancock and I once nearly starved to death in a west London restaurant. It’s part of the invisibility of women in the public sphere. There are micro-aggressions like that but there’s also micro-homophobia. If my wife and I go out to dinner, inevitably someone will come over and say: “What are you two girls doing on your own?” Five years since you co-founded the Women’s Equality party. How is it progressing? It hardly got any press but we had the most successful general election of any party. We could only afford to stand in five seats so we stood against five male MPs with allegations of sexual impropriety against them. Four stood down and one lost his seat, so we were 100% successful in our plan. It’s a different way of doing politics and I’m hugely proud of it. We’ll continue to work on women’s issues. Make no mistake, when this pandemic is over, it’s women who will suffer the most. We want to support them as much as we possibly can. It took the Greens 20 years to get a seat. I have every confidence that we will at some point. How’s your lockdown been? I miss hugging my kids terribly but it’s been business as usual in many ways. I sat in my shed and wrote a book – it’s called Toksvig’s Almanac, with an interesting woman from history for every day of the year – so life didn’t feel that different. I’ve grown tomatoes and potatoes from seed, which I’m thrilled with. I’ve come over all Prince Charles and speak to the plants each morning. Between the Stops by Sandi Toksvig is published by Virago (£9.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p over £15