Kate: “Exercise transformed my body and mind”
As yet more social restrictions are issued amid the pandemic, TV presenter Kate Thornton reveals how her celebrity friends are keeping her spirits up
Many of us have struggled since the coronavirus pandemic forced the world into isolation back in March. And now, with parts of the UK back under stricter regulations and growing fears over another national lockdown, TV host and mum-of-one Kate Thornton admits she’s finding it hard.
Kate, 47, lives in London with her 12-yearold son Ben, and like millions of others, faces a winter spent under restriction, as the capital was put into a Tier 2 category earlier this month, meaning households can’t mingle with others.
FATIGUE
The former X Factor presenter shares Ben with DJ Darren Emmerson, with whom she split in 2011. She says, “Me and Ben survived our first lockdown together but, like everyone, fatigue is now kicking in.
The moment they announced those new restrictions again, it was really hard.
“I’m just taking each day as it comes right now, because what else can you do? I am doing all right, considering the world is upside down. It’s not been easy being a single mum in lockdown, but Ben gets me through it. He is my best achievement and our relationship is amazing, although he is heading towards the difficult teenage years – so far he still talks to me!”
Kate is also “very happy” in her threeyear-long relationship with construction worker Matt Vincent, but declines to open up about their romance as she has promised him she won’t talk about it.
Kate started her career as an editor for Smash Hits magazine in the ’90s, before moving into TV and becoming the first-ever host of The X Factor in 2004, as well as regular slots on Loose Women and This Morning.
She counts a number of celebrities among her “besties”, including presenters Denise Van Outen, Holly Willoughby and Myleene Klass, as well as actresses Tamzin Outhwaite and Lisa Faulkner, and All
Saints’ sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton. The gang are often seen socialising together, so during the first lockdown, they devised a way of being able to catch-up virtually – by doing online workouts together.
Kate says, “I’ve been obsessed with fitness throughout this pandemic. I suffered a nasty back injury last November, where I slipped and fell down the stairs at home and broke two bones in my spine. I couldn’t exercise for months, so when we first locked down in March, I decided I wasn’t going to eat and drink my way through it.
“My back was better by then, so I started doing High Intensity Interval Training [HIIT] classes online with a personal trainer called Richie Swan. He is a mutual friend of the Sugababes’ Heidi Range, and I met him at her hen do in Ibiza [in 2017].
“I introduced his sessions to the other girls and they all got involved. We would be online together every day and we set up a WhatsApp group with him included, which we called Richie’s Bitches!” she laughs.
Kate, who has previously spoken about suffering anorexia at school after being bullied, adds, “It’s not about weight loss, it’s about physical strength. It also saved my brain and gave me something to do. It’s transformed both my body and my mind.”
EMOTIONAL REUNION
Luckily, once the restrictions were lifted during the summer, the crew – plus new member Richie – all met up for dinners and picnics in the park.
“Our reunion was super-emotional and there were tears,” says Kate. “We were able to meet up in each other’s gardens, but now I worry because, as the cold sets in, that is going to be a real challenge.”
Despite feeling anxious about the impending winter with social restrictions, Kate admits there has been one positive about the pandemic – she has vowed to give up smoking.
She started the addictive habit in her late 20s and although she quit before she got pregnant with Ben to help her conceive, she
returned to it, much to her son’s disapproval. She took up the “Stoptober” 28-day challenge at the beginning of last month and has stuck to it, saying, “Ben is appalled at the idea of anyone smoking. It’s a great disappointment to him that I do. My job is to be a good role model to him, so I am quitting for him. I’ve never been a heavy smoker. Social occasions are where my intake of cigarettes go up, but now we’re not socialising, I’ve decided to take that final step. I’ve been twitchy some days and I warned Ben at the start that I might be cranky, but I’m at the end of the month.
“I know I can do it, it’s mind over matter. I vape, and I am using patches and chewing gum. I’m determined to stick to it this time!”
By Jane Oddy
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