I don’t feel the pressure because I’m standing next to Roch
Music fans rejoice: The Hit List is back. Host Marvin Humes tells GEORGIA HUMPHREYS about working with his wife, fatherhood, and the JLS reunion
HOW good are you at remembering the name of a song, or who’s singing it, when you hear it playing? Well, Saturday night quiz show, The Hit List, which airs on BBC One, tests exactly that.
Presented by husband-and-wife duo, Marvin and Rochelle Humes – who are famous for being popstars themselves (Marvin in JLS and Rochelle in The Saturdays) – it’s now returning for a third series.
As it was filmed in July (they were the first show to go back into BBC Glasgow after lockdown), Covid-19 restrictions mean there’s no audience for these new episodes. But, it’s still the ultimate feel-good and fun-filled telly.
Here, London-born Marvin, 35, tells us everything we need to know.
Can viewers expect any changes to the format of The Hit List?
THE feedback that we got series one and two from the viewers is that they wanted to hear more music. So, we’ve just increased the gameplay a bit.
The first round is called 5 of 5 from 5. It’s five seconds of five songs from five decades, so that’s quite a quickfire first round for the three teams.
Do you feel pressure that it’s a big Saturday night show?
ONLY when it’s on TV and you get the viewing figures – obviously we pay attention to that. It’s nice to know how many people are watching.
When we’re recording it, I don’t really feel the pressure because I’m standing next to Roch, who’s the easiest person for me to work with, obviously.
And also because it’s such a fun, easy game. It’s not like hosting a show like This Morning which is so diverse in topics.
You and Rochelle have been married since 2012. What is it like to present with your wife? WE know each other inside out. She doesn’t even have to say something and I know what she’s feeling.
We just really enjoy it, and we’re so lucky to be able to host a show like this that’s a lot of fun, and it’s a good laugh.
Rochelle is due to give birth to your third child next month. How has the pregnancy been?
THIS pregnancy has actually gone, in our eyes, really quick, considering we spent a lot of months at home in lockdown. Weirdly, you would have thought it felt like a drag.
With Alaia (who’s seven), when it’s your first, it’s so new to you and you’re so apprehensive about the whole process, so I think maybe because it’s the third one, it feels like it’s gone quicker this time around.
It must have been tricky being pregnant during the lockdown...
THERE have been strict measures in place of course, but generally, it’s been fine. When we have the baby, it’s only a few weeks away, so I’m sure there will still be those strict measures in place with visitors and things like that, but it’s all good.
We don’t take for granted we’ve got our third child on the way; we’re very lucky we are bringing another little baby into the world.
You posted on Instagram recently about your first night away together for a while...
YEAH, literally, probably about six months! I’ve always said it’s so important for couples to just be a couple – even if it’s one night in six months. Ideally, we’d do more of them but obviously we’ve been restricted. But I think for the sake of your relationship and for the sake of the children, the most important thing is that mum and dad are taking time out for themselves as a couple.
We’ve always said that is super important for the health of the household, so we try and do that as much as we can. It’s just nice to have uninterrupted conversation and just having a laugh together and spend quality time together, really.
It was announced in February that JLS are reuniting, after eight years away as a band. How are you feeling about that?
WHEN we announced it, it was a great feeling and it went unbelievably well, and we put the tour on sale. We were only anticipating 12 arena shows, which is a lot, but that then very quickly grew into 30 arena shows which is unbelievable. Fingers crossed the tour is going to go ahead in June.
It must have been great to get such a reaction from fans...
I WAS trying to put my finger on why we sold so many tickets and it had gone so well and I think, for a lot of our fans, JLS take them back to a time when they were a lot more carefree, they were early teens or younger and they probably didn’t have the life stresses they’ve got now. It’s all about the memories and the music and obviously us four performing together.
Have you all stayed close while not working together as a band?
THE difference with us is compared to other bands that have split, we’re still best mates.
We see each other all the time and our families see each other all the time and our wives speak all the time, so there’s no scandal with us where we hate each other, we’ve got a lot of love and respect for each other.
What do your little girls think about you being a popstar?
MY little girl, Valentino, is only three; she saw daddy for the first time in JLS, performing on The One Show, and she’d never really seen that before.
She just knows me as daddy, not as a member of this pop band, so it was so nice to see her see me doing my thing with the boys. She was saying, ‘Daddy is singing with Uncle Aston and Uncle JB and Uncle Oritse’, like it was a brand new thing. It’s like, ‘This is what daddy’s been doing for a long time!’
But that’s something I’m really looking forward to – seeing the fans and the people who got us to where we got to, of course, but our little ones seeing us up on that stage is going to be special.
The Hit List is on BBC1 tonight at 6.15pm.