text: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at people questioning why she doesn't have children – and claimed she would never be asked if she was a man. The SNP leader said her predecessor Alex Salmond did not have to field questions on why he has not started a family. Ms Sturgeon insisted she was not 'moaning' but also attacked the criticism she and other female politicians' have had to endure over their appearance. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hit out at people questioning why she doesn't have children – and claimed she would never be asked if she was a man . Ms Sturgeon was interviewed by STV's Debi Edward for the special TV programme set to be aired in Scotland at 7.30pm tonight . The steely First Minister made the remarks in the latest of five special programmes profiling the main party leaders with their families at home. In the programme, set to air on STV in Scotland at 7.30pm tonight, Ms Sturgeon reveals how Margaret Thatcher inspired her to get in to politics – but not for the reasons the 'iron lady' would have wanted. She also reveals her low-brow TV viewing habits, love of steak and chips and recent image makeover. The First Minister also talks of her dream to be the first leader of an independent Scotland, but would not be drawn on when the SNP dream would become a reality. Ms Sturgeon, who is married to Peter Murrell, the SNP Chief Executive, said she understood the why people asked her about why she did not have any children. She said: 'I suppose people have an understandable curiosity and that's understandable.' Tonight's STV profile on the Scottish First Minister shows old footage of her as a young SNP activist (right), showing her dramatic transformation . The steely First Minister, pictured at her wedding to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, made the remarks in the latest of five special programmes profiling the main party leaders with their families at home . Nicola Sturgeon's husband admitted his wife was not just in charge of the country - she also ruled the roost at home. Peter Murrell said the First Minister was 'in charge of the remote' when it came to what the couple watched to unwind. Ms Sturgeon said: 'Peter puts up with it.' She added: 'When I get the chance to watch the television I'd love to tell you it's high brow stuff I watch but it's not. 'I like watching soaps so I will catch up with Corrie or Eastenders or River City. On a Saturday night when things like X Factor or Strictly or more recently the Voice are on, that's the kind of stuff I watch.' Asked what her favourite meal on a Saturday night is, she said: 'Steak and chips.' But she added: 'On the other hand Alex Salmond doesn't have children. I'm not aware of reading an interview or seeing an interview with Alex Salmond asking that question. 'So yes, I understand it but I think it's just one of these things. I'm not moaning about this but it's just one of these things that I think is just a bit different if you're a woman in politics.' Her husband Peter added: 'A man would never get asked about clothes or hair or something else. It's just different.' Ms Sturgeon said she had learnt to deal with the pressures of being a woman in politics. She said: 'One of the things I live with in politics and public life is what you wear and I can't really stop people doing. 'It's one of the things women in politics have to deal with that men don't. Men, the colour of their tie is the most difficult decision they have to make every day. 'So you have to be thinking about what you're wearing but you don't want to be thinking about it at the expense of what you really need to be thinking about. 'It still annoys me when I read really derogatory things about how a women looks because you would usually not read these things about a man and that still has the potential to put women off public life and that's a real shame.' Perhaps, surprisingly Ms Sturgeon also revealed that former Tory Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher was 'one of the key reasons I'm in politics'. But she said: 'Not for the reasons she would have wanted but because I grew up opposed to everything she stood for and that motivated me to get involved. 'But more seriously, she was the first women leader of the UK and yet she did pretty much nothing to help other women get opportunities. I want to use my time in this job to be completely different.' Ms Sturgeon took part in First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh today, with just two weeks to go until the election next month . First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, pictured ahead of First Minister's Questions today, said she wanted to spend longer cutting the deficit than Labour or the Tories . Ms Sturgeon said like Mrs Thatcher, she also wanted to be the first female leader of her country – once it had declared independence from the UK. She said: 'Would I love to think that one day I would be First Minister of an independent Scotland. Of course. 'But does that mean that I think Scotland is going to be independent in the next five years, I don't know. 'I just want to concentrate on doing this job to the best of my ability with whatever powers and resources we happen to have at any given time. 'I'll make the most of that and do the best I can for the people I serve because ultimately I am a public servant and the people are the boss.' Ms Sturgeon, meanwhile, revealed that Twitter is her 'bad habit' as she offered an insight into her life away from the political spotlight. Asked about her bad habits, the First Minister said 'Twitter's probably my bad habit'. He husband chipped in, adding: 'Yes, switching off from social media, or not switching off and when in bed you make one final check when you should just switch off from these things and leave them behind.' Ms Sturgeon, meanwhile, was today forced to reject scathing criticised of the SNP's spending plans by the Institute of Fiscal Studies. The IFS said the party's spending commitments did 'not necessarily match' their anti-austerity rhetoric and could result in billions of pounds of cuts for UK government departments. It said the SNP's proposals implied the same reductions in spending as Labour, although they said the nationalists would 'cut less to start with', meaning that the 'period of austerity would be longer than under the other three parties we consider'. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has left her boxy jackets (in 2012, left) and trouser suits (last year, centre) for the svelte power dresses which have come to define her style this election (pictured this week, right) Ms Sturgeon dismissed the IFS report as 'full of assumptions and speculations', adding that the think tank had got 'the SNP's plans wrong'. She told MSPs at Holyrood: 'I have said repeatedly I do want to take longer to eliminate the deficit than the other parties. Because I want to see us have the ability to invest more in our economy, in our public services and in lifting people out of poverty.' She added: 'That is the clear difference between my party and the other parties represented in this chamber.' Ms Sturgeon said the IFS report 'doesn't credit for any increases in revenue for the tax rises that we are proposing'. The First Minister continued: 'Secondly, it gives no credit for the revenue we would increase from cracking down on tax avoidance ... but the fundamental misassumption at the heart of the IFS report this morning is this one: it assumes that the SNP would cut borrowing by 2019/20 to 1.4% of GDP. 'That is not our plan, our plan is for borrowing in that year to be 1.6% of GDP.'
target: SNP leader said  Alex Salmond did not field questions over his family .
  Said she was not 'moaning' but also attacked criticism of women's looks .
  She made the remarks in latest programme profiling the main party leaders .
  Ms Sturgeon also revealed her TV habits and recent image makeover .
  She said she relaxed by eating steak and chips on a Saturday night .