Cover Story Here’s Lucy! The popular host of the returning Ireland’s Got Talent tells Jess O Sullivan what’s in store for the new series, and shares her new obsession...

You would never guess from her bright, game for anything, TV shows, but Lucy Kennedy has a secret shy side. She talks to Jess O Sullivan about Ireland’s Got Talent and her unusual new obsession that keeps her awake at night

There’s a very strange reason why Lucy Kennedy hasn’t been able to stick to her new year’s resolution to go to bed early – mukbang-ers. (We hadn’t heard of it either!) Lucy is sitting in a high chair getting her hair and make-up done for this week’s cover shoot and talking a mile a minute to a confused RTÉ Guide team about her new favourite pastime. “So, it’s people eating food on Instagram, like noodles or chicken wings and I could watch them for 45 minutes. This is what keeps me awake. I’m usually in bed in the dark, with just my phone on, watching people eat, thinking will I run downstairs and make some noodles? Would I have time to put on some chicken wings? This is totally a thing. It’s very strange and very addictive.” A quick Google search confirms that Lucy hasn’t in fact lost her mind, and that the Mukbang or ‘eating broadcasts’ are indeed hugely popular. The trend began in 2011 in South Korea when social media users began live-streaming themselves eating. Cue the slurping of ramen, happy eating noises and general chatter as they worked their way through large quantities of food. These videos are Lucy’s idea of a good night in. “Why do I love them? I think it’s the sounds and because I’m on a diet, and I love food, and this food is tasty. I need to do a programme called Eating With Lucy where I can sit and eat every day, because I love it.”

Such quirky, self-deprecating humour is typical of Lucy. She is the embodiment of the phrase ‘what you see is what you get’ and as a result, the vibe in the studio is one of ease and fun. Her genuine ‘common touch’ is a people skill not all broadcasters possess, but is definitely part of the magic she brings to her work. Lucy says it’s not really something she thinks about consciously, as she genuinely doesn’t know any other way to be. “I find in life so many people are afraid of showing themselves. I find that very strange because I’ve always only shown myself. Even at times when I’ve gotten into trouble for doing it, or not got a job because of it, I can never ever not be myself. That’s why I wouldn’t make a good actress, because I can’t be anyone other than me.” It makes perfect sense that her most successful show to date, Living With Lucy, is a warts-and-all, behindthe-scenes peek into the lives of celebrities. It’s a format where she is most comfortable making herself at home with strangers. To date, Lucy has lived with 33 celebrities and in that time, an enjoyable bonus for viewers has been the chance to meet the real Lucy. “I think people like that in Living With Lucy: I am in my pyjamas and furry slippers; I’m wearing a shower cap; I might have a spot; I’m eating too much food and I’m bloated. I think people like to see that just because you’re on the telly, it doesn’t mean you’re different. I’ve always said this all along in my career, but a lot of people in this business take themselves too seriously and I just don’t understand why. Because we’re all the same, it’s just our job is televised. So I don’t get it, I just don’t get it.”

Lucy says she has tried to teach this kind of self-awareness to the three children she has with her husband of ten years, Richard: Jack (9), Holly (4) and Jess (2). “I’ve drilled that into them, about the whole world of celebrity. Jack said to me ‘Are you famous?’ and I said, ‘No, my job is famous.’” For that reason, she says, her kids have no plans to follow her into the limelight. “To be honest, they have very little interest in what I do. They’re not media-savvy children, thank God, and I like it that way. They never listen to me on Radio Nova. They don’t care who I’m living with. But they love Ireland’s Got Talent because they love seeing normal people doing big things, just like I do.”

Ireland’s Got Talent, of which Lucy is the host, is back on our screens on February 2 for a second season. She will be joined once again by judges Louis Walsh, Michelle Visage, Denise Van Outen and Jason Byrne and the real stars of the show, the ‘normal people doing big things’ as Lucy so nicely puts it. She loves the madness of the auditions because she gets to meet so many interesting people (though she is a teensy bit sad that there are no talented dogs this year!). “I really do love people – all walks of life, all genders, all ages, all colours – whatever you fancy. I love people. I will always find the good in people. And in particular, I love everyday people. In fact, they’re more fun than celebrities.” Lucy says she feels her job as host is a great responsibility, not just to the show, but to every single contestant she meets. “The contestants are not camera savvy. They’re not celebrities. This could be the first time that someone has ever stood on a stage in their life. It’s somebody’s mum or daughter or granny and I’m there to look after them. I take that responsibility very seriously, whether it’s a child or a deaf older lady. I’m so mindful of the fact that they’re real people. I think that’s why I got the gig on Ireland’s Got Talent.”

A self-confessed chatterbox, Lucy insists that there is also a side to her that is quite timid, but it can be difficult to convince people that it’s there. “People actually laugh when I tell them this, but while I love talking, there’s a shyness to me that I suppose I don’t show, that I overcome when I have to. I’m very uncomfortable on a red carpet, at awards ceremonies and stuff. I feel

quite self-conscious.” Because of this, Lucy can relate to the stress of the talent show contestants putting themselves out there to be judged. “I’m not a modelly kind of person. I’m not actually that into my appearance. I know that I’ve got lumps and bumps because I’ve had a few babies, and I don’t mind. I am the Irish Bridget Jones. I always forget to hold in my tummy. I forget the way to position my arms, or my chins – I’ve got three chins – and I just don’t know what to do with myself. I look very awkward. I’m usually wearing massive, and I mean massive, Spanx. So usually I do the red carpet and then I leave my Spanx in a hotel bin, so I can breathe and enjoy the food. Now not the expensive real Spanx, I get mine in Penneys.” Staying grounded is important to Lucy, and over the years she has consciously tried to be kind to everyone she meets, especially anyone junior learning the ropes. It wasn’t always glamorous hosting duties for the chatty girl from Sandycove, Co Dublin. She landed her first job in 2001, working as a runner on TV3’s Irish version of The Weakest Link and she remembers being that person on the lowest rung of the TV ladder. “My very first job was basically being Eamon Dunphy’s slave on The Weakest Link. I’d do things like warm up the contestants and tell them to turn their cards around. But I remember meeting people, famous people, and you never forget who was rude to you, and you never forget who was kind to you when you were a runner working for free.” The Weakest Link was axed after just six months, but thankfully Lucy’s career has enjoyed more longevity. However, those first impressions have stayed with Lucy. “I hate seeing anybody be rude, it makes me feel sick. Or when you see someone networking towards some people who they think will get them somewhere and it’s so transparent. They’re the people who I avoid in life.” Lucy says that she has been lucky, in that she has met some really nice people along the way, but one colleague she will always be particularly grateful to is Colm Hayes, her co-host on The Colm & Lucy Breakfast Show on Radio Nova every morning. In 2010, when Gerry Ryan died suddenly, Colm and Lucy found themselves ‘filling in’ for a few months until the station was able to catch its breath and recover from the loss. “It was really nice of him. He was ex104FM, in 2FM, and I was just plucked from obscurity because they wanted a female voice, so I didn’t know what was going on. For the first two weeks, I wasn’t even speaking into the microphone properly, so he literally taught me everything. Little did we realise that eight years later we’d be back together, but I think in terms of radio he was always my guidee. Even when it was myself and Baz [Ashmawy] on 2fm, Colm always guided me in that sense. He would have been a big champion for me.”

As a result of the kindness she was shown, Lucy has always made a point of holding the door open for others starting out in the media industry whenever she can. “I’ve taken loads of people under my wing, because I always remember what it was like trying to get direction, so if anyone asks me for help I always try to help them. Now I can’t always succeed, but I always try. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they’re coming from, I’ll always try.” If there is a new generation of talent nipping at her heels, Lucy is content in the knowledge that what she brings to the table now, she can do at any age. “I look at people like Helen Mirren and Meryl Streep and they’re as successful as ever. I hate seeing 24-year-olds, their lips filled and their cheeks changed. I don’t worry about my age and my looks, because I don’t really care. I think there’s longevity in talent and if you have the talent you’ll always get a gig.”

She says that if she had to try to impress the judges on Ireland’s Got Talent, her act would be to change 50 nappies in a minute, possibly while playing the piano. But one thing is for sure, Lucy’s innate talent is to know who she is, something that’s definitely worth a golden buzzer.

Photographer: John Cooney; stylist: Anne O’Shea (Morgan Agency); hair: Will Talbot (Brown Sugar); make-up: Michelle Montgomery

Look 1 (cover image): Rose gold Swarovski drop earrings, €65, MoMus; 1970s orange-red cut out, Dirty Fabulous Vintage, €240; leopard print heels, €105, Dune at Arnotts. Look 2: 9 carat gold tube pendant and fine gold chain, €225, MoMuse; jungle print blouse, The Kooples, €198; silk & lace tank top, €170; wet look jeans, €140, Karen Millen – all available from Brown Thomas; Christina red and black ombre heels, €120, Moda in pelle at Arnotts. Look 3: Rose gold earrings with blush stones, €75, MoMuse; cream roll-neck jumper, €99, Selected Femme, available at Arnotts; wet look jeans, €140, Karen Millen; Christina red and black ombre heels, €120, Moda in pelle at Arnotts

I’m so mindful of the fact that they’re real people. I think that’s why I got the gig on Ireland’s Got Talent