The new Leader of the Lords, Baroness Jay, inherited the political ambition of her father, former Prime Minister James (now Lord) Callaghan.

Since the 1997 General Election, she has served as Minister of Health and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords.

Margaret Jay - Baroness Jay of Paddington - is cheerful, energetic and has been one of the great successes of the Blair government in the Lords, having won respect on all sides of the Chamber.

But her personal life has also attracted publicity.

She had been married for 18 years to Peter Jay, once Britain's ambassador in Washington, when she had a much-publicised affair in 1979 with Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein.

His wife, Nora Ephron, wrote a comic autobiographical novel, Heartburn, which contained numerous recipes for comforting, fattening food.

After the break-up of her marriage, she married Professor Michael Adler, an expert in sexually-transmitted diseases.

Lady Jay, 58, a mother of three, held various production posts with BBC television in current affairs and further education between 1965 and 1977.

TV reporter turned minister

Baroness Jay arrives in Downing Street

She then worked as a reporter on BBC1's Panorama programme and Thames Television's This Week.

She went on to present the BBC2 series, Social History of Medicine, as well as being a contributor to Newsnight, Any Questions, Question Time and other current affairs programmes.

Lady Jay has worked tirelessly in the area of health - even before becoming a minister.

She has been active in the Aids field, patron of Help the Aged, member of the Management Board of Positively Women, founder director of the National Aids Trust.

She was raised to the peerage in 1992, and served as an Opposition Whip in the House of Lords in the last Parliament.

Once she was asked whether she was born into the old Labour establishment and had any problems with New Labour.

She replied: "No, not at all. If I had been actively involved in the Commons in the early 1980s, I would have been a moderniser then."