Be yourself and you’ll stand out for the right reasons
STEPH McGOVERN is reflecting on the words of wisdom she’s heard over the years which have stuck with her.
“The thing that’s stuck the most – and what I think about most for my little girl – is just about authenticity,” says the presenter, who has a twoand-a-half-year-old daughter with her partner.
“You are you for a reason: the environment you’ve grown up in, the family, the background, the geographical location, the community. All those things have a part in making you, you – and you don’t need to change that, no matter what, because that’s what makes you authentically you. The right people will love and respect you and value you for that.
Steph – who hosts Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch – was born in Newcastle and raised in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. She was awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship at sixth-form, due to her potential in the field – but work experience on BBC’s Tomorrow’s World set the wheels in motion for a broadcasting career, with Steph working her way up from researcher to producer and presenting roles, including covering economic and business news for BBC One and BBC Breakfast.
“When I started out, to be a girl with a regional accent going into mainstream media was really unusual,” recalls Steph, who’ll turn 40 in May. “I remember one boss saying, ‘You’ve got to where you are because you’re you and that’s the great thing, because you’re really normal – for want of a better word.’
“That’s been something I’ve kept telling myself. There have been times when I’ve felt out of place in certain situations and thought, ‘God, I need to behave a bit posh here or sound different.’ But I’ve tried to say, ‘No – be yourself, be yourself, be yourself and you’ll stand out for the right reasons.’”
It’s a message she highlights when giving talks at schools. Although, not everyone she’s worked with has been so supportive: “I’ve also had bosses who said, ‘You’re never going to end up on telly with a voice like that.’ But I’ve listened to the ones that were inspiring. That’s another thing I tell kids – you might hit barriers, come up dad Eamonn, 68. The pair teamed up for a project highlighting older people’s skills that they can share with younger generations against people who don’t value you. But they’re just one voice, and you don’t have to listen to that one voice.
“Find the ones that are positive – they’re the ones to take with you.”
Recently, Steph has been re-visiting roots in a different way, teaming up with her dad Eamonn, 68, on the #GenerationWOW (which stands for ‘wonderful older wisdom’) campaign in partnership with Specsavers Home Visits and u3a, the ‘positive ageing’ movement University of the Third Age, highlighting skills older people can share with younger generations.
They’ve created a series of skillsharing tutorials – and Steph’s done one with her dad, a professional artist. It sees Eamonn lead his daughter through a masterclass to produce a painting of a local landscape.
“Growing up, I’ll be honest, I thought, ‘Why does my dad have to have a weird job?”’ she laughs. “I thought our house was really weird, it was all paintings and sculptures. But as I’ve got older, I’ve thought, ‘My dad’s an artist, that’s amazing!”’
Although they had occasionally painted together, they’d never done it as properly as this – and while Steph’s chuffed with the painting she produced thanks to her dad’s guidance, the chance to connect is what she really cherished.
“Because you don’t really make time like that, do you? I’ve got a little girl and a lot of the time with my mum and dad is spent talking about her.