I can’t cook, says belle of the bells Jackie
SHE has been the face of the BBC’s Hogmanay Live! coverage for 18 years.
But Jackie Bird has revealed that she considers cooking even a basic meal more stressful than hosting TV shows.
The 55-year-old, who has two adult children – Claudia, 24, and Jacob, 22 – said her husband, fund manager Robin Weir, is in charge of the kitchen.
She added: ‘I don’t cook. I will set the table, I do the shopping and wash the dishes but my husband does the cooking. I struggle with cheese on toast. I actually find hosting the Hogmanay coverage for the BBC less stressful than cooking for lots of people.
‘I don’t know how to turn my oven on. When I have friends round for dinner they bring food with them. Once I remember they asked to heat something up and they had to find the instructions for the oven because I didn’t know how to use it.’
Miss Bird last night fronted BBC One Scotland’s New Year show live from Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket. Last year’s programme attracted an average audience of almost 1.05million, winning a 60 per cent audience share.
Miss Bird said: ‘I never take it for granted. It’s a time of year where we can see huge viewing figures and the countdown to the New Year is such a big moment, not to mention it’s live. There’s a lot riding on it.
‘There have been shows down the years that have gone wrong – most notably with the weather – but you just have to carry on and it’s such a thrill at the end of it.’