‘I DON’T MISS DRESSING UP FOR GLITZY DOS. I MISS THOSE NORMAL THINGS WE ALL TOOK FOR GRANTED’
Mondays, then use tons of hairspray as the week goes on to keep it in place.’ Lorraine had been fortunate enough to have her hair coloured just before lockdown, ‘so I’ve been quite lucky; it’s only in the past week that the grey patches have started to come.’
Her stylist has been helping her choose clothes online. ‘God bless M&S and Zara – they’ve been lifesavers. And I’ve been wearing a lot of things from last year, things that don’t need ironing that I can just shove in the washing machine and bring back out.’
With COVID-19 dominating the agenda, she’s recently interviewed several politicians including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who Lorraine thinks has steered her native country through the crisis ‘incredibly well’. Generally, though, Lorraine is ‘unimpressed’ by the leadership. ‘They’ve not covered themselves in glory. I know they’re all trying to do their best. Nobody is getting up and saying, “How can I screw this up today?” But the lack of clarity has made people more anxious. You need a message and you need it to be very clear. We deserve better.
‘Interestingly,’ Lorraine continues, ‘a lot of the countries that are performing the best are led by women – the prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has played a blinder, the leader of Taiwan, the Scandinavian countries – apart from Sweden and their leader’s a chap.’
Lorraine has loved interviewing so many key workers. ‘These are the people who are really important – the fantastic woman looking after old people or that brilliant guy coming off a shift with PPE on and covered in bruises because it’s so uncomfortable. It’s been so heartening to give those people their place. Priorities have changed towards the people who really matter. Kim Kardashian and that clan seem irrelevant now. They’ve gone from being fascinating – not to me, but to a lot of people – to “meh”.’
By that token, Lorraine says, ‘I’m not missing putting on posh frocks for glitzy dos. I miss my pals at my exercise class, going for a cup of tea with a friend, those normal things we all took for granted. But we will get through this. We may come out in a different place that we have to adjust to, but we’ll come out stronger.’
Good Morning Britain with Lorraine Kelly is on ITV, weekdays from 9am
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