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We’ll be seeing much more of MICHELLE ACKERLEY following her recent success hosting The One Show. She talks to Charlotte Pearson Methven about inheriting the ‘openness’ gene, confronting racism and how her mum has boosted her mental health (and fitness!)
Since her star turn on The One Show, Michelle Ackerley is becoming one of TVs’ hotetst persenters – not bad for a girl who vneer wanted ot be afmous
For someone who ‘never wanted to be looked at’ or ‘to have my face on telly’, Michelle Ackerley is doing a fabulous job of not achieving her goals. The 33-year-old has presented the BBC’s Watchdog, fronts two of its other shows ( Council House Crackdown and Crimewatch Roadshow) and has appeared live from the red carpet for the children’s Baftas and Sport Relief. But it is since taking to the sofa earlier this year to cover Alex Jones’s maternity leave on the network’s nightly chat programme The One Show that the smiley presenter from Cheshire has really begun to receive the recognition she never desired.
‘Even now I watch myself and think, “Oh God, why did you say that? You sound like such an idiot.” It’s like when you hear your own voice, but multiplied by ten.’ Michelle visibly cringes. But self-consciousness aside, she is loving her life now that she’s cracked the primetime – and she may yet get used to being recognised. ‘The other day, a man came up to me on the street and said, “I think you’re doing a great job on The One Show.” I took a selfie with him and his granddaughter. It felt nice.’
The show, which takes a light-hearted look at current affairs, is a beloved BBC One staple. Michelle presented regularly for the first few months of this year, alongside co-host Matt Baker, sharing the role with Irish TV personality Angela Scanlon and interviewing celebrities including Jake Gyllenhaal and Samuel L Jackson. And she still fills in ad hoc as Alex eases back into the role post-maternity. Michelle was ‘thrilled’ to land the gig, having hankered for it since doing guest slots last year. Of Matt, who has hosted the show with Alex since 2011, Michelle says: ‘He is so
passionate about what he does. There’s only so much you can do technically to make team presenting work; the rest is how you spark off each other. Luckily, we had chemistry!’
The programme has furthered many a media career, including the presenting duo of Adrian Chiles and Christine Lampard, whose rapport boosted its ratings during their reign from 2007 to 2010. It may do the same for Michelle, who has been a darling of the BBC since landing a four-week work placement while studying psychology at the University of Manchester. She applied on a whim, after being inspired by a psychology and media module on her course. ‘We looked at the psychology behind shows such as Big Brother, which had just come on TV at the time, and things like body language. It was the first time that crossover between psychology and television occurred to me, and I became fascinated.’
Michelle was called in for interview within a week of applying – ‘They said I seemed like “a real person” and liked my psychology background’ – and soon found herself juggling her dissertation with full-time work, making documentaries for BBC Manchester. ‘I knew straight away I’d found what I wanted to do. It was so creative, an environment where you could come up with ideas and people would actually listen.’
That was 12 years ago and Michelle hasn’t stopped working since. But she hasn’t succeeded by being cut-throat, so Alex Jones didn’t ever need to worry about being edged out of her seat. ‘Lord, no! I just kept it warm for her. Alex and Matt are a dream team – the show is such a well-oiled machine with them.’ She is also full of praise for Angela Scanlon, who covered Thursdays and Fridays, while Michelle did the front part of the week. ‘Angela is lovely. Naturally, people will compare us, but we aren’t in it to compete. We are always texting each other, saying, “Go girl! That interview was fantastic!” I believe in being supportive in this industry, not backbiting. I’ll look at someone and think, “They’re bloody good at what they do” and use it for inspiration.’
The daughter of a half- Ghanaian, half-British mother and a half-Nigerian, half-British father, Michelle grew up mixed race in ‘a white world’, in Cheshire’s affluent Alderley Edge. Her stepfather Marcus, who adopted Michelle and raised her from the age of five, and who she refers to as Dad – she has no contact with her biological father – is white and works in vehicle finance. She has a younger half-brother, Jonathan, 26. ‘My family are my biggest supporters – they’re like a brick wall behind me saying, “You’re not going to fall down.” My stepfather is my dad in every sense; he is the pragmatic one – all numbers and figures and structure – while Mum is the emotional one.’
Despite growing up in a secure family environment, Michelle struggled with the challenges of looking and feeling different in times that were less accepting than now. ‘I hated looking in the mirror or at photographs of myself, as I was always the one who stood out. Even in my family, my [step]father, obviously, is white; my brother looks completely white; and my mother, although bi-racial, has European features. I have the African nose and hair and I never felt attractive.’
Michelle attended the private, all-girls Alderley Edge School, where she was the only black pupil. ‘I still remember going in to interview when I was 11, with full braids in my hair, and the headmistress saying, “You’re going to have to take those out.” Even as a child, I thought, “That’s not right.” She said, “We don’t have braids in our school”, and I said, “Well, that’s probably because you don’t have a black girl in your school.” My mum was shooting me looks, but I knew I had to stand up to her. I said, “I can take these braids out and come in with a massive black afro. Would you prefer that?” She looked at me with this little smile, and then apologised wholeheartedly. I don’t think she meant to be racist.’
Michelle remained at the school through her A-levels, making ‘fantastic friends’ – and keeping her braids. ‘I used to straighten my hair, which never worked. All I ever wanted was that long, swishy European hair. Sometimes I would wrap a towel round my head and dance around with it swinging like a ribbon, pretending that it was straight hair. I just wanted to know what it felt like.’ Luckily, Michelle’s loyal friends never made her feel different. She was, however, conscious of external racism at times.
‘A group of us went to Tenerife on holiday after A-levels and I remember there was an older couple on the beach who would move their sunbed to get away from me. One day the woman came over and said, “Are you English? Because you don’t look like it!” I felt stung. My first instinct was to shut the whole exchange down quickly, so my mates wouldn’t realise what was happening. We were having fun and I felt I needed to protect them.’
Michelle is disarmingly open about this loaded topic. This may be, at least in part, because openness is in her genes. ‘My granddad, who is 83, is head of a tribe in Ghana,’ she says, ‘and, contrary to what people may think, this role is about being a communicator. People in his tribe come to him with their problems and he listens, like a life coach. I grew up in a Western world and, until recently, I didn’t really understand what he did. I thought a tribal chief ran around with a spear, keeping people in order. It has been fascinating to learn about him. He spends half the year in Ghana and the other half here. It’s interesting, because even when he’s in the UK he plays the role of tribal chief. Everyone knows
I believe in being supportive in this industry – not in backbiting