My life through a lens

Celebrities share the stories behind their favourite photos. This week it’s singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, 42

1992

We’re on holiday in Cornwall here. My mum and John got together when I was seven. My brother Jack [bottom right] was born when I was eight, and my sister Martha [left] when I was 11. They were really cute and I was just not – I was much taller than everybody. I was absolutely obsessed with my little brother and sister though; I had

Jack on my hip from the time he was born, and gave him his bottle, his bath and put him to bed. I adored it, and I’m sure that sowed the seed for me having billions of kids.

2013

This is one of my Strictly favourites, doing my Charleston. I was lucky enough to get to the end, so I learned them all — paso doble, foxtrot, quickstep. When it began, I thought there was no way I’d be able to learn a new routine every week, but your brain is cleverer than you think. I was terrified when we were about to dance the paso doble in the semi-final. But Brendan [Cole] was brilliant — we didn’t have a single argument and we laughed a lot.

1998

When I was 16, I started singing in a band called theaudience [pictured]. We signed a record deal, but we got dropped in 1999 and the band split. Aged 20, I found myself high and dry. All my friends were at university, but I didn’t go because I thought I would be singing. I modelled for three or four months and then, in 2000, I sang Groovejet [If This Ain’t Love] and it changed my life. I had no idea it was going to be such a big song: I am still singing it now, 22 years later.

2019

Richard and I are big fans of Game Of Thrones so I wrote an email to the producer saying we’d love to be extras. We flew out to Belfast and had an amazing experience as part of the big fight scene in The Long Night, the third episode of the last series. At the time, it was the most expensive episode of TV ever made. I got to dress up in armour as a warrior in the Northern Army and we had to charge the White Walkers. As we were extras, we were moving as an amorphous blob, but I like to think I killed loads of them.

1989

I’m ten years old here, and posing with my mum. She presented Blue Peter from 1983 to 1987, mostly as a single mum. That period, before she met my stepdad John, formed the bedrock of our relationship. We are so close, and she lives just ten minutes from me now. It was good for me to see her working hard and doing freefall jumps out of planes — she impressed me.

1979

This is a very small me. I like seeing pictures of my mum, the television presenter Janet Ellis, and dad, the director Robin Bextor. They separated when I was four, so I don’t have many pictures of them together. I totally understand why they split up; they were both much happier with the people they ended up with, but it’s nice to see evidence that once they were a couple.

2005

I met Richard [Jones] after I signed a solo record deal. I was touring with my first album and he was my bass player. We were both in relationships, so we were friends for a good year before I split up with my ex. We tentatively went on a date and then it moved very quickly because we realised we were serious about each other and we found out we were having a baby after going out for six weeks. Sonny was born in 2004, and Richard and I married the following year, in Umbria. Italy had everything — the wine, the food, it’s beautiful and it’s not too far away.

2020

At the start of lockdown we had no work and all five kids at home. Richard suggested we do a live gig, so we started our Kitchen Disco concerts live on Instagram. I wanted to give people a break from the news, but it ended up being bigger than I ever imagined. I don’t make the boys do it: I just tell them when it’s going to be and they usually dress up. We’re just a regular family and, during lockdown, I think the Kitchen Discos saved us.