TV PRESENTER CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN OPENS UP TO OK! ABOUT SELF-CONFIDENCE AND WHY SHE ‘DOESN’T BELIEVE IN SUMMER’!
CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN TELLS ok!’s MICHELLE GARNETT ABOUT WOMEN HELPING WOMEN, HER SIGNATURE LOOK AND WHY SHE DOESN’T ‘BELIEVE IN SUMMER’!
Claudia Winkleman is having her signature make-up applied in preparation for OK!’S exclusive shoot. ‘Oh, I need darker! Really dark. It’s looking a bit insipid,’ she laughs, encouraging further liberal lashings of eyeliner and mascara that complement her signature fringe.
Joking aside, Claudia is completely devoid of any diva-isms. From the moment she arrives – bare-faced and bang on time – at 11 Cadogan Gardens, a discreet London hotel in Chelsea, we’re immediately struck by how warm, down-to-earth and witty she is. Just
like the Claudia that television viewers have fallen in love with.
While sipping her morning decaf coffee (a little milk and some sweetener), she informs us that she’s already had a quick nap this morning after the school run and regularly catches a midday siesta. ‘Thing is, you wake up starving,’ she confesses, adding: ‘But half a Kitkat and you’re good to go again.’
Food is a big thing in Claudia’s household. ‘My teenage son can get through a loaf of bread without even blinking,’ she says. She’s referring to her 16-year-old son Jake, who she shares
with her film producer husband of 19 years, Kris Thykier, along with daughter Matilda, 13, and son Arthur, eight.
The family live in London, and born and bred city girl Claudia has absolutely no plans to up sticks to more rural parts like her TV pal Tess Daly. ‘I’ve been to the countryside twice. I didn’t like it. All that green… I don’t even have a garden at home,’ she says in that deadpan way of hers which makes you question if she’s really pulling your leg or not!
Starting out her career presenting travel shows when she was just 20,
Claudia, who also has her own radio show, is now one of TV’S biggest stars. Last year she also became an ambassador for
No7 Laboratories, who have developed a range of rapid, non-invasive skin-transforming solutions for Boots.
Here, the
47-year-old star opens up about her mirror ban, the benefits of working with women and being an embarrassing mum…
You look great in a suit, Claudia. What do you love about them? Trouser suits make me feel… not masculine, that’s the wrong word. They make me feel like me. I like the androgynous look. I don’t like girlie clothes and I was worried you might ask me to wear a floral, whimsy maxi dress today with an open-toe sandal. I mean, I’ve just been sick in my mouth! And possibly a bolero – urgh! I don’t believe in summer as an idea. I like a big coat, knee-high boots, jeans and layers. I don’t like beetroot or salad. I like stew and chips and shepherd’s pie and port.
Do you even own a pair of shorts? Don’t be ridiculous! The last time I wore shorts was on a sports day when I was 11. Even then I knew this must never happen again. Summer clothes are too fanciful and visually offensive!
Are you a big fan of the high heels you wore in our shoot?
I love heels. I either like them incredibly high or non-existent. I can’t do a mid-heel.
If you’re feeling dowdy and unsexy, what outfit from your wardrobe improves your mood?
Nothing. I love feeling unsexy. I’m usually playing bridge in my reading glasses, that’s as sexy as it gets! I don’t like bright clothes, paisley or a coldshoulder top, that’s offensive. I wear a lot of black [demonstrated by the fact she arrives at our shoot in black skinny trousers and a black top].
Have you made any disastrous outfit choices for red carpet appearances? Oh loads, but I avoid the red carpet at all costs. If I’m there it’s only because a friend has made me go. I don’t really think about what I’m going to wear and I don’t borrow clothes from designers and steam stuff. I just open my wardrobe and wear the same old c **p.
You have a signature look. Are you ever tempted to try something different?
No, I have such a uniform in terms of clothes and my face. I always have eyeliner in the house. There might be no bread, we might be out of milk, but there’s always eyeliner. I don’t think I’d get employed if I did a pastel eye and a side parting. People would say: ‘Get someone else for the job!’
Who or what inspired your look?
Do you remember a singer called Wendy James who was in a group called Transvision Vamp? My parents didn’t let me watch much telly but I was allowed to watch Top Of The Pops and I saw her and it’s instilled in my head – that’s the way we should look. Orange face, black eyes, white lips. It’s like painting by numbers.
How do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Repulsed! I think, why is Meatloaf looking back at me? My mum [former Sunday Express editor Eve Pollard] raised me in a home without mirrors. She’s a staunch feminist and wanted us to know that what we look like is the least interesting thing about us. I’m passing that idea on to my children and we don’t have mirrors at home either. I grew up not worrying about my looks and I still don’t mind my face. I’m confident without make-up on and I only wear it for work.
What do you love about your generation of women?
We’re funny, we haven’t given up, but we also know what’s important – family, friends and experiences,
‘i avoid the red carpet at all costs’
How important are your friends to you?
I love my friends. I’m incredibly lucky to have my family, but my friends are the ones I call and who I have a proper laugh with. Women look after women, whether it’s at the school gates – I’ve got three kids at three different schools – or at work. Holly [Willoughby], Davina [Mccall], Fearne [Cotton], Emma [Willis], Tess [Daly], we’re all great friends.
Are you all at the age where you discuss the perimenopause a lot?
Oh, yes. We’re quite competitive about who gets there first. I don’t think it’s happened to me yet but I’m ready. I asked my mum how her menopause was and she said she sneezed and it happened. I don’t know if there’s a hereditary link but fingers crossed. Mind you, I know friends of mine who are going through it and it’s not very pleasant for them so I wouldn’t want to laugh about it.
Did you experience sexism in your career when you were younger?
No, I’m incredibly lucky. Where I work in TV all the bosses are women and it’s a femalestrong workplace. So when someone’s had a baby there’s quite a lot of chat about weaning and routines.
Does it frustrate you that women still don’t have equality in some walks of life? We’re on the road to equality but more needs to be done. We need to do a lot more with childcare, perhaps crèches in all places of work. Some of my friends have had to completely stop work when they’ve had a baby and then they’ve found it very hard getting back into their career.
You mentioned that your mum’s a feminist – how did she shape your approach to life?
She’s a force. She’s brilliant and bright, but also very cosy. In the world of journalism she helped so many women. She’s a massive believer in women helping other women, because we just do. She advised me to be the first one at work and the last. Always smile. Be kind. Work hard. And girlfriends are everything. She’s a very clever mummy.
What’s your impression of the younger generation?
They’re doing brilliantly, but I feel sorry for them financially. How will they ever buy a flat? Our generation were allowed to really bu**er things up and make mistakes. Also I think there were a million parties at school that I wasn’t invited to but it didn’t matter because I never knew about them. Thanks to social media, young people have developed FOMO [fear of missing out].
Do you get FOMO?
No, I have JOMO – the joy of missing out! I’m a real home girl. I like to read and I play bridge obsessively. Me and my husband plan to enter competitions. All I really want is my three babies on my bed with me watching Horrible Histories and me licking them on the face. Is the Claudia we see on TV different from mum Claudia?
I don’t think so. I’m a cosy mum with the children. Otherwise I’m just the same on telly, but with a bit more make-up on. The children don’t watch or see anything I do. They’d be too mortified.
Are they embarrassed by you?
Yes. I’m a very embarrassing mum, but it’s my job. My 16 year old stopped me from taking him to school when he was 14. He was like: ‘You can’t hold my hand, you can’t call me Pie or Snuggles anymore in public, you’ve got to stop greeting my friends with “Howdy” and stop doing that dancing show – it’s weird.’
How do you manage to stay healthy?
I went spinning for a bit but I bu**ered my chest doing push ups on the bike handles. I sometimes walk home after taking my daughter to school on the tube. And I try not to eat sugar, but it doesn’t last long because my daughter is an amazing baker.
What age do you feel inside?
Sixty-eight. I always have done. I asked for a crochet set for my 21st. I’m finally getting to the age where I should be. When I was younger I never wanted to go to night clubs, clutching a warm wine, flirting with some tool. I always felt like an imposter. Anyway, I’m not good with alcohol. I like a hot drink.
Tell us why you love being an ambassador for No7 Laboratories…
No7 is for normal human beings like me. I really love their Hydraluminous Moisturising Foundation. It’s not thick and treacly, it’s a light film of goodness and makes you feel like a unicorn! And the new Dark Circle Corrector is amazing. I still have a little person [Arthur] who likes a midnight visit to our bed, so under-eye correcting is great.
Do you suffer from dark circles?
Yes. I don’t mind the odd dark circle because it makes me feel like a bit of a rock star. I’m in bed by 9pm but I like the idea that I might have been out, wearing kneehigh boots, possibly ending up in a skip. But when I need to look fresh-faced, the Dark Circle Corrector does the trick.
Do you have a regular beauty routine? Don’t be absurd! I never take my make-up off. I go to bed with as much make-up on as I can, so I look cooler in my dreams! My husband thinks I’m insane. I have a shower in the morning and some of it comes off.
Don’t you get terrible make-up stains on your pillow?
Yes, but I find that quite charming, a bit studenty and almost erotic [laughs]. It doesn’t matter if the marks don’t come out in the wash. Life’s far too short. I’m at the total opposite scale of perfectionism.
Who’s been your favourite person to interview in the course of your work?
Emily Maitlis – she was amazing. Charming, clever, funny and self-deprecating.
Have you ever fancied any of the celebrities that you’ve interviewed?
No, that’s disgusting! Famous people are totally unfanciable! My favourite thing when I’m doing my radio show is talking to members of the public. They’re fantastic.
What have you learnt about yourself?
How lucky I am. It’s ridiculous I’m still doing this job. And not to worry about anything that doesn’t need to be worried about, which is definitely telly and radio. I think we’re supposed to change over the years, but I’m not sure I have. My mum and dad will say I’m still the same Claudia.