Lorraine: I’m never retiring
Star to receive Bafta honour
LORRAINE Kelly will receive an award celebrating her four decades of TV work at Sunday’s Baftas – but the star insists she’s going nowhere.
The presenter, 64, has become one of the nation’s most recognisable faces since making her debut on TV-AM in 1984.
But despite her long and varied career in the spotlight, Lorraine says she has no plans to slow down.
She said: “I don’t think I would ever retire. I look at people like Jane Goodall, who I interviewed recently. The amazing lady who works with chimpanzees, she’s 90 years old.
Milestone
“I look at David Attenborough, I look at people like Michael Palin, and they still work really hard because they love what they do.
“They still have a curiosity and they want to learn things.
“I have still got lots to do and lots of people to talk to.”
Over 40 years on our screens, Lorraine has been involved in all sorts of major stories, from the 1988 Lockerbie air disaster to the King’s Coronation. She has interviewed prime ministers, royalty and Hollywood stars.
Not bad for a reporter who first started as a trainee on the East Kilbride News before landing a job at BBC Scotland as a researcher. She applied to be TV-AM’s Scottish correspondent in 1984. It was here that she met her future husband, cameraman Steve Smith. Lorraine has had her own ITV show since 2010, which is still a ratings hit all these years later.
It’s little wonder that bosses have had no desire to change such a winning formula.
She added: “There will come to a stage one day when they want to make a change and get someone else in and, even if that happens, I won’t retire completely. I will always either be writing or doing something for radio.
“It’s a huge milestone. Forty years is massive. TV can be notoriously ruthless, and people can come and go.” Lorraine’s daughter Rosie, 29, is now expecting her first baby in August.
And she said becoming a grandmother is very much the icing on the cake. The star added: “We’re really looking forward to it. It’s the most exciting thing that has happened to our family in a long time because there have not been that many babies.
“I will just have to make sure that I don’t interfere too much, that I’m not too much of a nuisance! I’ve just said to her, ‘I’m here for you, anything you need’.”
Lorraine will be the latest recipient of the Bafta Special Award, which recognises outstanding contributions to TV, at the Bafta Television Awards on Sunday. The ceremony airs at 7pm on BBC One.