Your home says so much about you...
BBC RADIO 1 DJ ARIELLE FREE TELLS MARION MCMULLEN WHY SHE LOVES A SNOOP AROUND CELEBRITY HOMES
Your podcast All Round Mine offers a glimpse inside celebrity homes. How would you best describe it?
[Laughs] It’s a bit MTV Cribs but in podcast form and that’s what I like about it so much. You have this expectation what celebrity homes look like.
I do the podcast with George Lawton, who is so great.
He was quite nervous when we first started, but now there is no stopping him.
He was doing Isolation Station [a radio show for Primark staff during the pandemic] and the first series of All Round Mine was done during lockdown. I was in a basement and he was at home on Zoom.
Is there no place like home?
Your home says so much about you. Vanessa Feltz was on the podcast for the latest series and lives in this property that is almost like a castle. It is a pink palace and she knows all the history of this building in north London. I had imagined her living in the countryside.
Scarlett Moffatt says she was saving and saving to build her dream home as soon as she started Gogglebox and she did it. It’s really nice to see that happening.
Are there any celebrity homes you would love to take a peek around?
J-lo’s. I would love to find out what her home is like.
She’s so pretty and perfect with this amazing personality.
You want to know if her house is a place where you wouldn’t touch anything at all or if it’s boisterous and really family-orientated with music playing.
I’d like to know what type of place Lady Gaga has as well.
[Laughs] I see her in New York in a Brooklyn apartment block.
Any unusual finds?
Model Felicity Hayward has started a collection of Rod Stewart mirrors. In the 80s there was a real trend for pop stars on mirrors – full-length or heads and shoulders. She loves Rod Stewart and got into collecting all these mirrors of him.
Have any of the celebrity homes inspired you?
Lots of people talk about their gardens and caring for their gardens on the podcast. It’s inspired me to start a little herb garden and I’ve managed to keep my plants alive, [laughs] which I’ve never done before.
Many celebrities also have pictures of friends and family on the wall and that inspired me to go and get proper frames for my photos and to put them up in a sort of montage in the spare room.
I like hanging pictures and trinkets and I have lots of 60s-chic stuff.
Have you picked up any DIY tips along the way?
I’m fascinated by DIY hacks and house rules; like who does not allow shoes on the carpet. And then there’s the wire checker that stops you drilling into electrics... genius invention.
I did paint my small bathroom, but it went a bit wrong and two days after, when it dried, it looked like leopard print and it now annoys me every time I go in.
I’m not really house proud, but during lockdown I changed my flat around and have done it four times since.
I also discovered Marketplace [on Facebook] for buying and selling items online. I’d never really used it before but bought a sofa from it the other day and a couple of plant pots.
The plant pots belonged to a girl who was moving back to Italy and the man did not want to just throw his old sofa out.
Do you enjoy having people round?
I used to be a big host, having friends and family around during the week, but then we weren’t allowed to have anyone in our homes. I have lots of friends who live nearby and they might pop around now to have a drink.
What else has been keeping you busy?
I have music festivals every weekend at the moment, then there is the BBC morning show and I love doing the Love Island podcast The Morning After as well.
I think we are all finding our feet again. Going back out and doing the weekly shop in a supermarket and not online deliveries.
I learned how to make music during lockdown as well, and released my debut single called Soul Full with (Bristol duo) Mortimer and vocals from Joe Killington.
What has it been like being able to DJ at music festivals again?
I recently met a 19-year-old at one of the festivals and she had been only 16 when we went into lockdown and she had missed out on really pivotal years – not been able to go out, go to a festival, first job.
The first time I did a festival again you could feel the anticipation. There was such an appetite for the opening night.
I was not sure beforehand what it would be like, but the doors opened and the place just filled up.
There was a real appreciation for it.
■ All Round Mine with Primark is available on all major podcast platforms. The latest series includes model Vogue Williams, Love Island couple Olivia and Alex Bowen, broadcaster Vanessa Feltz and comedian David Whitely