Kaye Adams: ‘My success? It’s never been about my looks’
Kaye Adams talks future plans, the importance of laughter, and why she’s (fairly!) relaxed about getting older...
She’s usually the calmest, most collected Loose Woman, but it doesn’t mean Kaye Adams, 55, doesn’t have her crazy moments – especially in some of the hilarious YouTube videos she’s chalked up with fellow panellist and close friend Nadia Sawalha. The duo have sampled the latest natural facelift to testing out ‘boob hammocks’.
Scotswoman Kaye – who has been with her partner, Ian, for 23 years and has two daughters with him – talks about juggling her career, motherhood, and her secret to happiness in your fifties.
Hi, Kaye. So, tell us… what are you up to?
Well, the most exciting thing is that Nadia and I have a cookbook coming out in March called Disaster Chef. If anyone had told me this beforehand, I’d have dropped down in shock, because cooking isn’t my skill. I keep saying I’m Nadia’s muse. It was born out of her frustration for my terrible cooking skills – I just don’t have that flair. Nadia does things almost instinctively. She’s a total natural in the kitchen, as she grew up with it.
Did you have a very different experience growing up, then?
My mum, my wonderful working-class mum, was ahead of her time. She and my dad worked full-time running a business, and she was a fabulous role model for me growing up but, no, she wasn’t a cook! She simply didn’t have the time to cook, and it just wasn’t her thing. I ate out of tins, basically, and I didn’t try fresh pasta until I was 17! As far as I was concerned, spaghetti came out of a tin that had Heinz on the front of it!
Of course, you’re a parent yourself. What sort of mum are you?
I’ve currently got a 15-yearold, Charley, and an 11-yearold daughter, Bonnie. So, right now, they’d probably class me as a very embarrassing parent! At least that’s what they tell me. Apparently, I’m ‘not remotely funny and actually quite boring’. Thanks very much, kids!
Your mum hasn’t been so well recently. That must be tough...
My mum and dad, until recently, were amazing and such a huge help with the kids. But because I had my first baby at 39, Mum and Dad were obviously older. My dad sadly passed away last year, and my mum was amazing at looking after him. Now, though, she’s not very well, so she needs my support.
Are the Loose Women a great support?
Absolutely. Sometimes, I think about the fact I have so many demands between the kids and work. I also have a radio show up in Scotland that maybe I shouldn’t do, but I love it so much. Nadia, in particular, was the most incredible support to me last year. You don’t keep a tally between friends, but I hope I’ll be there for her in the same way if she needs me.
What are your most memorable Loose Women moments?
That’s a tough call. Normally the ones where I’m cringing inside! It’s a remarkable show, because you could be discussing heavyweight topics like sexual harassment and then – as I have done – find yourself lying semi-naked in a bed of cabbage leaves. I can’t even remember why I was doing that, but I was!
It’s important to have a laugh, though, isn’t it?
You can get to an age, somewhere in your 50s, where you have lots of responsibilities, and you can become a bit careworn. So to do something juvenile sometimes is great. As I get older, it becomes more and more important to not take myself seriously.
Would you say you live a healthy lifestyle?
I make an effort to keep fit, eat well and I don’t drink that much. I know there’s no guarantee – many people have led healthy lives and illness still comes knocking, but I’m doing what I can.
How do you really feel about ageing?
Oh, I worry, just like everyone else. I can’t pretend that I haven’t thought about getting work done. But it’s never been about looks for me, professionally. I’m not worried it’s all going to fall apart if my looks go! I can see if it’s been your calling card how difficult that could be. Sometimes, I look in the mirror and shake my head, but that’s where having that slightly teenage attitude to laugh and inwardly go, ‘to hell with it’ really helps!