WithWOW What’s On WalesOnline
Were you surprised at parents being happy to have their techniques judged? who doesn’t have children about how to bring up children?
Did you enjoy being the mediator during the studio debates?
IT was really intense, especially with a big studio audience, but really good fun. I quite like being in control, so it was quite nice. But I really got on with all of the couples, and so it was just really nice to spend that much time with them.
It’s a really delicate balance to make sure everybody feels safe enough to open up and say freely what they want to say – and they did. And it’s not just about me, it’s about all the teams behind the camera as well.
You spoke about suffering a miscarriage in a beautiful article for Red magazine last year...
I DIDN’T think I was going to write about that. Red just got in touch with me and they said, ‘We just want your reflections on the previous year’.
I wrote my first piece and it was like, ‘I’ve had a great year and I’m really positive’, and I just thought, ‘B ****** t, none of this is true, and I’ve actually had a really difficult year’. And it was only because it was Red magazine and I felt safe enough to share it in that space that I wrote about it.
Have you since received messages from people who have been through the same thing? YEAH, the reaction was massive. I’ve had loads of people get in touch just to say well done for speaking out.
It’s such a taboo still, isn’t it? So many women go through it and yet, we all sort of suffer in silence. So, it felt good to be able to use my voice to speak out about something that affects loads of people.
Is it hard balancing being in the public eye and wanting to keep things private?
I THINK it is always a balance, and what I’ve discovered is I’ve begun to give more of myself away the older I’ve got. I’ve realised that I have got a voice and, if I use it in the right way, it’s meaningful to other people.
For years and years and years, I just kept my head down, kept myself to myself, and just thought, ‘Why would I talk about anything personal? My job is my job and the rest of it is my own’.
But now I just think, actually, it’s really important for me to use this platform to speak about things because it gives other people permission and it makes other people feel connected as well.
■ Britain’s Best Parent? starts on Channel 4 on Thursday, at 8.05pm.