KONNIE HUQ TALKS ABOUT LIFE WITH HER HUSBAND CHARLIE BROOKER AND THEIR SONS
FORMER ‘BLUE PETER’ PRESENTER KONNIE HUQ TELLS OK!’S JOSIE COPSON ABOUT ‘BLACK MIRROR’, HER MARRIAGE AND BECOMING AN AUTHOR
Being a children’s TV presenter involves staying constantly upbeat and fun, which could be a struggle for most of us, especially if we’re having a bad day. But after spending a morning with former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, who is still the show’s most long-standing female host, it’s clear this was never a concern for her.
During the course of OK!’S shoot, the cheery 43 year old marvels over everything from the catering (‘This is incredible. I’m calling my husband to ask him to pick the kids up so I can stay for dinner’) to her hair (‘If I described my favourite hair, this would be it. Actually can you bring the height down? No actually, in the last few seconds I’ve grown
to completely love it. This is perfect’). Her positivity is infectious, and after the interview we’re practically skipping home!
While Konnie’s first job was entertaining us on Blue Peter – and making us lust after those elusive badges – she is now busy writing a new series of children’s books, which she says will help kids who are ‘different’ feel less alone. She also helps her husband of nine years, Charlie Brooker, 48, on the creative side of producing his popular show, science fiction anthology Black Mirror. ‘I feel like I co-write them all! Behind every great man is an even greater woman,’ Konnie tells OK!. She adds that the couple’s ‘very funny’ sons Covey, seven, and five-year-old Huxley also keep her busy.
Here, Konnie chats exclusively to OK! about why Charlie reminds her of a gay man, her decision to take a step back from presenting and why she’s no longer ashamed of being different...
What’s life like in the Brooker household?
Chaotic. My house is so abysmal I can’t let anyone in. Charlie is so messy. We both were, but when you have children one of you has to default to being the tidy person, which is me. The children are both funny, which they get from Charlie. Covey made up a joke: ‘What did the man say when he saw his God? Oh my God.’ I thought it was really funny. They are both a bit odd, but in a good way.
Do Covey and Huxley think you and Charlie are cool parents?
No – neither of them are keen on writing, and we’re like: ‘We do it for a living, you must do it too!’ Hopefully it will kick in one day. We took them to Glastonbury and it went over their heads. They don’t realise what spoilt kids they are. Covey was asking to go home because it was too loud. Don’t they understand we got them VIP tickets? I got really excited when I did Nickelodeon’s Bedtime Stories because I thought they’d be impressed, and Covey hated it. He made us turn over.
You co-wrote an earlier Black Mirror episode, Fifteen Million Merits, with Charlie. How did you find the experience?
I love thinking, what if? And Black Mirror is ‘what if?’ in the extreme. I wrote that episode after being on The Xtra Factor, and it’s about talent shows. The concept is also about wanting more. I don’t know if Simon [Cowell] saw it, but he never said anything. He can take a joke, though. He’d like it. He’s a good egg.
Do you have a lot of ‘what if?’ conversations around the dinner table?
My mind goes all over the shop, and what I love about Charlie is he’ll join me. Often conversations with straight blokes are about football, a film or a topic. This is a bit of a stereotype, but blokes aren’t as good on the phone, but Charlie, like my gay male friends, is really good on the phone. I like people who are interesting and funny in conversation, and Charlie is definitely that. There is never a dull moment with him. All the other stuff – the big house, being famous – that’s just set dressing and superficial. What really matters is what strikes to your core.
Would you like to write another episode? Black Mirror is all encompassing in our house. I feel like I co-write them all! Behind every great man is an even greater woman. That’s me! It’s all my doing [laughs]. He’ll ask me what to do with certain parts of the scripts, and I watch the first cut and give my notes.
Do you fear where technology is going? Not as much as I should. People fear the unknown, even books were feared once. It’s when you don’t police things that they can get out of hand. I live in a house with three boys who are really into screens. Other mums say: ‘I only let my children have half an hour of screen time,’ and I think, yeah, mine have half an hour off the screen [laughs]. I hope it means they are ahead of the curve for the future.
What are you like with technology?
I’m terrible! The higher tech it is, the more likely it is to break down, so I avoid. I’m not even on Instagram. Everything in my life has to be a pleasure, not a chore. I find social media a chore, and when something is a chore I axe it.
How did you meet Charlie?
We were friends for years, through work.
If you’d said to me: ‘You’re going to marry Charlie,’ I’d have said: ‘Yeah, whatever – he’s not my type.’ They do say the best relationships come from friendships. You can go a bit quicker.
What made you begin to see Charlie in a romantic way?
One year, between Christmas and New Year, he rang me about work, and we ended up chatting about everything and anything. I was looking at the time – it was 9pm, then 10pm, 11pm, 12am… 1am. I didn’t want to get off the phone. Months went by and I did Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie in Canada or Hawaii. I set up Skype, and asked if I could test it on him. We chatted for ages again. There were these signs, but we were both dating other people all the way through our friendship. The timing has to be right, and one day it was.
Was it a whirlwind when it finally happened? Yes, it all clicked very quickly. We married in Las Vegas after nine months. He didn’t want children originally, but I guess he hadn’t met the right person. Who wouldn’t want to have children with me [laughs]? He’s amazing with kids – can you believe it? People see him on screen and think he’s grumpy and intimidating, but he’s not. People see me on children’s TV and think I’m all lovely and nice, but I can be a right old b***h. We meet somewhere in the middle.
Will you be doing anything to celebrate your tenth anniversary?
Maybe we’ll actually get married properly, but we are so lazy. Even choosing who to invite is a hassle. Let’s do it with OK!, then you can organise it all [laughs]. I’ll ask Miley Cyrus – she’s very nice so she might come. Her house burnt down during the LA fires and she continued filming her episode of Black Mirror. I mean she does have back-up houses, which not all of us can say, but, still, it’s impressive.
Tell us what it was like writing your debut children’s novel, Cookie And The Most Annoying Boy In The World?
I’m a big child, so it was easy. Cookie’s mind jumps around, and so does mine. I used to tell my nephews and nieces stories about Cookie, so the character has always been in me. Covey said it’s his favourite book. I said he was being biased, but he said: ‘No, honestly it really is.’
What is Cookie like?
Like me, she loves maths and drama – you don’t need to choose. It’s cool for guys to be geeky, but with girls it’s a bit naff so I’m trying to redress the balance. Being a bit of an outsider is good. Difference is what makes life exciting; otherwise everything is bland and sterile. Today’s nut job is tomorrow’s trailblazer.
We should embrace change. You never know, in 30 years we could all be vegan. If eating human bodies that died of natural causes was a thing, we’d do that. We just do what is the norm. I do go off on tangents like Cookie, as you can tell!
Have you got more comfortable with what makes you ‘different’?
When I was growing up I was embarrassed that my mum wore a sari, and none of the other mums did. None of my friends were eating curry, and I’d be moaning and asking: ‘Can’t we just have fish and chips?’ It wasn’t the multicultural society we live in now, and my own children are growing up in a different world. I wanted to feel accepted, and part of the gang. Now it’s cool to be proud of what I was embarrassed by.
How do you look back on ten years presenting Blue Peter? I was only 22 and it was my first gig after uni, so it was the dreamiest job. One minute you’re interviewing pop stars, the next you’re travelling to some far-flung country and then the next you’re visiting sewers. It really was as fun as it looked, which is why I didn’t leave for so long. When I left it was like, what now? Nothing can top it. It was like we were on holiday.
What are you doing now?
I’m working on the second Cookie book, and a podcast for BBC Sounds, where celebrities have to delete social media for a week and we chat about how their life has been affected. It’s hard to convince anyone! I got Charlie signed up, though.
Any more TV presenting?
It would have to fit in around the kids. I tried to do it all – I had a fivemonth-old baby and I was doing a show called King Of The Nerds. I had to get up at 5am, express milk and be in the car before the baby had woken up, then film. I realised I was just doing everything badly.
Now they’re both in school I have more time, but I don’t want to miss anything while they’re young.
What do you think of The X Factor: All Stars concept?
It’s good to reinvent. I hope they have Wagner! When I presented Xtra Factor I got one of the guys into One Direction. It might’ve been Zayn [Malik]. We championed him even though he wouldn’t dance. I told Simon: ‘You need an ethnic minority.’