JEAN Johansson has navigated the world of children's telly (boy bands, gunge and all), delivered the weather forecast during the testing times of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud (not for the faint-hearted) and been butted by a feisty goat while filming in a safari park (one for the blooper reel).

The TV presenter, known for her roving reporter roles on BBC's The One Show and Animal Park, will return to our screens this week to face one of her toughest challenges to date as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef.

When we meet on a Wednesday afternoon in Glasgow, Johansson, 37, is reticent about giving too much away. "I have to be so careful," she says. "I got a big page from the PR in London about what not to say."

Ah, no spoilers here then … What she does allude to is how much the show has pushed Johansson out of her comfort zone. "It is nerve-racking," she admits. "What you don't see is the number of cameras in that studio. There is more than one crew going around filming everything.

"At home I'm quite a chilled-out cook. I will have Desert Island Discs on, a glass of red wine and take my time to produce a nice meal. But on MasterChef you have all those cameras, there's [the judges] Gregg [Wallace] and John [Torode], and you're thinking: 'Don't mess anything up …'"

She likens cooking under pressure to sitting her driving test. "Your mind goes blank. You know you can drive, but in that moment – as someone who failed five times – everything goes out of your head. Common sense leaves you.

"Timing is everything. If there wasn't the time [limit] on it, everyone would be a MasterChef champion. It is the time that gets you, the multitasking and remembering you are boiling one thing while something else is blanching and that you need to take another dish out of the oven."

Her fellow contestants include comedian Zoe Lyons, T'Pau frontwoman Carol Decker, actor Keith Allen, Paralympian Stef Reid, reality TV star Gemma Collins as well as Dolly Parton's younger sister Stella, herself a renowned country singer, and Frankie Bridge from girl band The Saturdays.

"I'm not allowed to say who is in my heat, but I made some good friends for life which I didn't expect," says Johansson. "I turned up on day one and was the first person to arrive. Then one after the other all these celebrities were walking in.

"That was daunting. It was well-known face after well-known face, which was exciting but nerve-racking. I felt like a bit of an imposter because celebrity is not a word that I attach to myself whatsoever. I felt a little bit like the odd one out.

"But after half a day together we were best pals and it didn't matter who had 10 million followers [on social media] and who had five. That all flies out the window because straightaway you become equal in the shared horror and terror of what is about to happen."

The second youngest of seven children, Johansson grew up in Port Glasgow. Her father John is a retired English teacher and her mother Winnie a housewife. "They met in the 1970s in East Africa," she says. "My dad was working as a teacher. I was born in Kenya and we moved here in early 1980s.

"My dad is from Kirkcaldy and my mum is from Kampala in Uganda. We moved here when I was one, so I don't have any memories of living in Kenya."

What drew the family to Port Glasgow? "The political situation in East Africa was bad when Idi Amin was in power," she says. The first available job in Scotland for her teacher father was in Greenock. "So, that's how we ended up there."

Her overriding childhood memory is of a sense of contentment. "Just really happy," says Johansson. "I grew up in a nice community feeling protected and happy, which I think set me up for being a confident and secure person now.

"I probably wouldn't be doing this job if I hadn't been brought up in Port Glasgow. I'm lucky to have grown up in such a tight-knit community. I had a normal, Scottish working-class upbringing."

Johansson laughs when asked how, with three brothers and three sisters, the family dynamic played out. "As one of seven children I had to be loud to be heard," she grins. "I'm the second-last – the forgotten child. Now that I'm older I recognise that may have created a bit of a monster.

"You had to fight to be heard in my house. You also had to be able to navigate different personalities. Some of my siblings are quite shy and quiet. Growing up in a household like that has stood me in good stead for being able to deal with all kinds of people – which is what my job is."

From an early age, there were signs of her future career path. "In primary school I was described as 'chatty' and at secondary school as 'loud'. I was opinionated and probably quite annoying for teachers. A lot of other people in this industry have told me that they were also like that in school."

Her first foray into the spotlight came as a 15-year-old model. "My idols at that time were Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks. I loved the camera. If I hadn't become a TV presenter, I would have done something behind the scenes: writing, producing, directing or photography."

Opportunity knocked when Johansson was 18 and attended an open audition where she was selected from hundreds of teens to become one of the presenters for a new children's TV show.

"Blue Peter was coming off the air for six weeks and they wanted to replace it with something completely different," she recalls. "BBC Scotland were given that task and they went around the country looking for presenters to host this magazine-style show.

"It was all quite late 1990s – wacky, loud and funky – all those words we don't use now. It was called UKool …" Johansson breaks off into laughter. "Case in point."

It provided a solid grounding, she admits. "I didn't have a clue what I was doing. It was pretty raw. There would be a new scooter out and we'd take it round the streets of Glasgow, stop people and say: 'Wanna try this scooter?' It was fun and high-energy, which suited me as an 18-year-old. I cut my teeth on that show and I'm grateful for it."

Johansson did a stint as a Disney presenter before joining CBBC. She interviewed pop bands and hosted segments with gunge and games. "It was a really good training ground. Holly Willoughby, Jake Humphrey, Fearne Cotton – people forget we were all at CBBC at the same time."

Her next goal was landing a job in a TV newsroom. "Arts correspondence or showbiz would have been more suited to my personality, but the [STV] weather job came up and I couldn't say no. It was a completely different discipline and a very difficult job."

How so? "The graphics for a start. There is a lot of design involved, the contact with the Met Office and just the seriousness of it. You can't get anything wrong. People are depending on the weather.

"When I was there it was during the volcanic ash cloud in 2010. It was a nightmare. I was terrified I would say the wrong thing. It was a memorable time. But it was tough and hard. It is one of the jobs that annoys me that I never quite got to grips with."

After she and her husband had a son Junior, now seven, Johansson had a short career break. "I took some time off to concentrate on being a mum. Then, when I felt like I was ready to go back to work, it still took me a long time. That was the one period in my career that has been a real struggle.

"I thought I would be a big fish in a small pond up here and that wasn't the case. No-one cared about what I had done previously. You are only as good as your last job and I maybe wasn't that great on the weather, so I had that to deal with as well. Then disappearing for two years never helps."

Johansson is frank when asked about the biggest adversity she's had to overcome. "I'm a mixed race, Scottish working-class woman in this industry. I have loads of barriers I have to overcome."

Although it hasn't shaken her self-belief. "I keep reading how 'disadvantaged' someone like me is. I don't feel that way and don't live my life that way, but I would be stupid to ignore some of the inequalities that go on in journalism, media and television because they exist."

It took two years of plugging away to land a paid job. A self-produced segment she did on Glasgow's preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games caught the eye of The One Show team.

Johansson has since become a regular roving reporter on the BBC's flagship topical magazine show and in 2016 she landed a similar role on the documentary series Animal Park, which charts the behind-the-scenes action at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire.

Hasn't she heard the old adage, "never work with children or animals"? "I'm a glutton for punishment," smiles Johansson. "Animals never do what you want – I don't think that has happened once. We just go and whatever happens is what you see on the show."

She has cuddled an elderly iguana and hand-fed a baby wallaby, but it is a job not without its perils. "You get relaxed after three series. I had to become vigilant again and remember they are wild animals.

"I got knocked down by a goat. I had worked with this goat before but that day he was in protective mode, not in a good mood and knocked me flat on my a***.

"I work with Silverbacks, giraffes and anteaters that could dismember you with one swipe of their claws. You are always aware of who is the boss when you are around lions. But of all the animals it was a goat who got me in the end."

Her husband is retired Finnish international footballer Jonatan Johansson, 42, who during his playing career spent time at Scottish clubs Rangers, Hibs and St Johnstone. Most recently he was an assistant coach at Rangers but left at the end of last season.

The couple have been together for 20 years and married for a decade. Earlier this summer they renewed their marriage vows in Majorca. "I can't believe it," she smiles. "We were just a pair of kids running around Glasgow and here we are 20 years later."

They met when she was 17 and her now husband 22. "I was still at school and had a part-time job at a golf club in Langbank. He used to come in and play a lot of golf. We met there." Was it love at first sight? She laughs. "For him. I don't think I was taking it very seriously."

So, he had to work hard to win her over? "Oh, definitely. I had no interest in settling down with anyone. I was getting ready to finish school and go off travelling. I was just starting my life and not looking for a boyfriend at all."

But fall in love they did. She embarked on a very different kind of adventure as Jonatan played for Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Malmo and Finnish club TPS.

These days home is near Wemyss Bay. Johansson can often be found pounding the pavements or hotfooting it through the surrounding parks. "I started running last year," she says. "It is a brilliant head-clearer for me. I'm not Jessica Ennis – I jog rather than run – but I love it."

Chances are her work diary might be getting a whole lot busier. "I'm shooting a couple of pilots for the new BBC Scotland channel so I'm excited about that. To be able to drive half an hour to work as opposed to planes, trains and automobiles would be amazing."

Johansson is sanguine when asked about her dream job. "I would like to be hosting The One Show," she says. "Doing that live daily show and coming into people's living rooms, talking about what is going on in the world. I am never going to be Kirsty Wark, but I like the lighter side of news.

"It's the same with This Morning. During my years of being a stay-at-home mum it was a saviour. When you are sitting there breastfeeding with baby brain, it keeps you in touch with what is going on in an accessible way.

"I would love to be that person like Lorraine Kelly who, when you put on the TV in the morning, is there smiling and happy, telling you what is happening with a bit of showbiz, politics, food and fashion. I love that – it is very me."

Celebrity MasterChef begins on BBC One, Thursday, 8pm. Thanks to Clockwise, Savoy Tower, 77 Renfrew Street, Glasgow (workclockwise.co.uk)