Glenda Gilson
The popular presenter chats to Jess O Sullivan about her no-nonsense approach to parenting
ey say the two biggest stresses in life are moving house and having a baby and I decided to do the two things at once
If you’ve been enjoying the current series of Ireland’s Got Talent, then you have probably also tuned into its sister show, Ireland’s Got Mór Talent. Presented by Glenda Gilson and social media star James Kavanagh, the pair’s antics side-stage, on stage and backstage with judges, contestants and each other, have been giving us all a hearty giggle. While the show aired in February, it was actually recorded back in November, just three weeks after Glenda Gilson gave birth to her son, Bobby. “If I didn’t turn up, someone else would have done the job, so I turned up,” Glenda says matter of factly, admitting that the fear of not being asked back is always in the back of her mind, part and parcel of working in Irish media. “We’re a small little pool in this country. There aren’t that many things on TV that require my hosting duties, so when you get a gig you want to hold on to it, especially one like Ireland’s Got Talent.”
To say the weeks around Bobby’s arrival were busy for Glenda would be a massive understatement. She had visions of herself enjoying two weeks off before her due date, putting her feet up and watching Netflix, but that all went out the window when he arrived two weeks early, on the day she started her maternity leave from Xposé. Her husband, Rob McNaughton, picked her up from Virgin Media’s studios in Ballymount to drive her to her final check up at The Coombe and her waters broke the minute she stepped out of the car in the hospital carpark and she went into labour. Bobby was a healthy 7lbs and Glenda was able to take the IGMT gig of her dreams. The downside was that she and Rob were also in the middle of moving house. “I arrived home to no curtains on the windows. It was kind of a struggle. It’s only now that I’m getting back on my feet. The last couple of months have been madness. But the two of us have great families, who have helped us along the way, so we’re very happy.”
Most people would baulk at the idea of moving house while expecting their first baby, but Glenda already had another very important baby in her life – her beloved dog Yaz, which she refers to as “the first love of our lives. They say the two biggest stresses in life are moving house and having a baby and I decided to do the two things at once. We were living in an apartment so Yaz had no garden. She would look at us ten times a day and we would bring her down for a walk. Obviously, I couldn’t do that when the baby came along. Now all I have to do is open the door and Yaz legs it out and runs around the garden. So she’s happy and so we’re happy.” Last year while pregnant, Glenda took part in the Dogs Trust charity campaign, Be Dog Smart Week, to help expectant parents introduce the new arrival to a family dog. Even so, Yaz had a rocky start to being a big sister. “She went into depression for about three weeks. My friend came over and said, ‘ That dog is after ageing about 20 years, I think she needs a hair cut to make her feel better.’ But Yaz loves Bobby now. Whenever we put him up to bed, she heads up herself. She also likes me being at home more during the day. And every time she goes past Bobby she’ll give him a little lick on the hand, so I’m always running after her with a wipe trying to wipe Bobby’s hand.”
Despite being quick on the draw with an antiseptic wipe, Glenda tries to take parenthood in her stride. Having suffered badly with hyperemesis gravidarum, the same condition that affected Kate Middleton and causes severe nausea, she couldn’t fully enjoy her pregnancy so now she is really enjoying herself, preferring to get on with the job at hand, rather than overthink her every move. This goes for her attitude to putting snaps of Bobby on her Instagram feed too. “I can’t help it. I was so sick during my pregnancy and the minute he arrived I felt brilliant, so I think ‘Why not?’ That little cute face – why not share it? If I make people smile with a picture of Bobby, why not? If you think about it too much you just drive yourself mad.” In any case, Glenda feels that she’s not so big a star that it really matters what she does anyway. “Who am I? I don’t have people hiding in bushes waiting for photographs. We live a very normal life. And do you know what? No one wants to see me any more. I put pics of him up and I get loads of likes and I put myself up and it’s like “Ah here, where’s Bobby?” This idea of raising a baby in a gender neutral way doesn’t hold much sway with Glenda. “Ah, I think just let them be. I’m not afraid to dress him in blue. He’s a little boy. I don’t think about that too much. I let him be what he wants to be. For now all we’re doing is having a laugh and a giggle. I don’t know what he wants to be right now. I’ll tell you in a couple of years. Once a child feels secure and loved that’s all that matters. Just give them the love that they want.”