So it's a surprise when she greets me in a trendy summer dress and sandals without a hint of makeup.
Fiona's in a very good mood, partly because she's recently taken over from Michael Aspel on Antiques Roadshow (BBC1 Sunday, 7.15pm), which she loves.
Mum-of-two Fiona, 44, has carved a niche for herself as one of the most reliable and graceful faces of the BBC, presenting the BBC news and Crimewatch. Antiques Roadshow has allowed Fiona to let her hair down a bit more on screen and that was part of it's appeal, she says.
"It's much more fun, I have much more of a laugh," she admits.
"Professionally, if you get offered a show where you're the sole presenter and you get six million viewers and you like it, you're not going to say no, let's face it.
"But even without all that, it's very nice to do something where you're not talking about death and destruction and famine and war and floods. That's lovely, I mean that's REALLY nice, actually, and that was part of its appeal."
The familiar format sees hordes of people turn up to shows all around the country with weird and wonderful possessions.
Experts mull over the more interesting objects and the pay-off, quite literally, is finding out how much they're worth, often accompanied with astonished looks and gasps from the bewildered owner.
"There have been some extraordinary things that people brought along, which have turned out to be enormously valuable," says Fiona. "Some people brought along a painting they literally found on a tip 20 years ago and it was worth between £20,000 and £30,000.
"Another guy brought a painting he had inherited from his aunt. Our art expert described it as the most significant painting he'd ever seen on the roadshow and it was worth £200,000."
Then there are the items which are not as valuable but still pique Fiona's interest for different reasons.
"When I was in Belfast for my second show, someone towards the end of the day brought along a signed copy of the Northern Ireland peace agreement in Irish and it was signed by all the politicians at the time, so there was Tony Blair, Gerry Adams, David Trimble and Martin McGuinness.
"I had done so much about that in the news and quite a few broadcasts from Stormont about the peace process and its faltering steps, so to have it in my hand... it's a moment in history. It was an amazing thing for me."
Not quite so amazing was the snake-adorned porcelain skull, which made Fiona jump, and the ram's head snuff box.
"A bit of shocker," she says. "But I ended up taking snuff from it and that was good fun."
A BBC Sunday night institution for the last 30 years, Antiques Roadshow is something of an antique in itself.
Fiona says she wasn't daunted about replacing Michael Aspel, who had been at the helm since 2000.
"Michael was fantastic on the roadshow as well as being an incredibly nice man," she says. "So it was never going to be easy. I don't know if I've put my own stamp on it. People don't switch on the roadshow to watch me."
She may be famous but her children are suitably unimpressed by her latest role.
Fiona says: "My children would only be impressed if I was in High School Musical or Doctor Who. That would really blow them away!"
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