SIXTY SECONDS
THE MADE IN CHELSEA STAR, 24, ON DATING ONLINE, ZOOM PERSONAL BESTS AND HOSTING A VIRTUAL BURNS NIGHT PARTY
How’s your lockdown been? I’m sort of getting used to it. The first one was a bit of a shock to the system but this is the third so it’s almost like going back to school after enjoying a short holiday where you get to walk around – then it’s term time and you’re back to staying in. Luckily we have a lot of stairs at home so I make a point of running up and down as much as possible. Also, technology makes it possible to chat to people. I spoke with Amelia Mist the other day and we reached our personal best – a nine-hour Zoom call! Basically, we hung out for the whole day on Zoom, which included us having lunch. It was like ‘pass the salt and pepper – oh, sorry, you can’t!’
So you’re making the most of Zoom?
It’s a weird concept because you’d go to a party previously and bump into a friend of a friend and make new friendships through that. But having that through a Zoom call, you arrange to Zoom a friend and they say, ‘Do you mind if my friend comes along?’ And of course that’s not a problem because they’re not taking up any physical space. I’ve met so many more people via online partying and online networking and it’s so weird because I consider some of them to be really good friends now.
Has it made online dating easier?
I’ve worked a bit in online dating and the old stigma of online dating has been completely taken away. It’s more acceptable because you can’t physically meet people in real life. I pioneered ‘iso-dating’ as a term and used to send out a pack that included a little poster, hats and bottles of wines so you’d set up your date with a theme. The French set was a beret and wine, which you’d send to your proposed date so you could be ‘whisked’ away to an exotic location. Fun things like that never existed before and it’s great to see how we can adapt things when times are bad.
What’s your secret lockdown skill?
I’ve got a really geeky one. There’s a TV show called Silicon Valley that I’m obsessed with and I decided now was a fantastic time to start learning Python computer code. I bought a course and did 20 straight hours of it, from seven in the evening to the next afternoon – then haven’t looked at it since! In fact, after all that coding I was so tired I think I slept the next two days.
The streets I once knew to be my home of Chelsea are not what they were and won’t be for a while
Have the streets of Chelsea changed?
Oh God, definitely. I’m going to get very emotional and philosophical here but the streets I once knew to be my home of Chelsea are not what they were and won’t be for a while. But it’s exactly the same everywhere. This is relatable to everyone now.
Have you got to know people in your street?
We have a neighbour who lives opposite us and we’ve a big glass balcony so we started to pin a note to her and she’d stick one to her window and we’d change our note the next day. It turns out she’s a nurse in the NHS so it was quite inspiring to have a strange conversation across the street via posters and I hope that brought a smile to her during a really difficult time.
You’re hosting a belated virtual Burns Night. How?
I hosted a black-tie gig at the beginning of the first lockdown and it was 100 of my mates, some of whom got dressed up. One did a reading and one played the violin and basically everyone had a great time. So my friend and former Made In Chelsea colleague Angus Findlay and I developed this idea from that. We’ve decided to switch up Burns Night and bring an alternative style to cheer everyone up in a miserable January. We’ve partnered with whisky company Heroes And
Heretics, and Angus and I are presenting it like an interactive podcast so we have some exciting guests lined up – stars from reality TV, athletes and drivers alongside music and a DJ set.
How did you join Made In Chelsea?
Years ago, when HMV was closing, I walked in and spent the last five pounds in my pocket on the first few seasons of Made In Chelsea. I walked back to school and said, ‘One day I’m going to do this,’ and my friends were all, ‘Yeah, sure!’ Seven years after that I ended up on the show. One of my friends said, ‘You had a dream and you’ve gone out and achieved it,’ but I thought, ‘It wasn’t that challenging as far as achieving dreams go!’ I love Made In Chelsea – it’s a great platform and it just
brings happiness.
Now you’ve grown a big moustache! Is it the finest in Chelsea? Not sure how much good competition there is out there! It’s actually a lockdown moustache. At the start of the first lockdown, I sat all my family down – and I’ve no idea what they thought I was going to say but they looked absolutely terrified – and I said, ‘I have something to tell you… I’m going to grow a moustache.’ Half looked relieved and the other half looked disappointed!
To register for the Heroes And Heretics Anti Burns Night Party on January 27, see hahcws.com/anti-burns-night-party