‘The Proms are a joy from start to finish’
Presenter Katie Derham on the classical music extravaganza, doing reality TV and rubbing shoulders with future stars at uni
Former ITN newsreader Katie Derham is like a breath of fresh air when we chat to her. After a hectic few months helping out with hosting duties for the Platinum Jubilee, the 52-year-old is getting ready to host one of the BBC’S biggest events of the year
– the Proms. And her face lights up as soon as we ask about it.
“It’s just a joy from start to finish,” Katie tells us. “I always feel happy at this time of year. I call the Royal Albert Hall my summerhouse.”
But before the madness of the Proms begins, she likes to escape for a family boating holiday. Katie, who lives in West Sussex with husband John Vincent MBE, 50, and is mum to Natasha, 22, and Eleanor, 17, says hitting the Greek islands is now a family tradition.
“We’ve always tended to try to take a family holiday before the Proms. In early July, we’ll head over to Greece on a sailing holiday,” she says. “We’ve been in love with sailing around the Greek islands for the past five years.”
Luckily for Katie, her daughters are just as keen on sailing. She says,
“Our girls have hardly known holidays which haven’t involved a boat – they love it. It’s a perfect bonding holiday. It’s good character-building stuff.”
So who got Katie, whose husband is the co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain, into sailing? “John’s parents Marion and Leon took up sailing on their honeymoon, so John grew up always sailing,” she explains.
“He’s very close to his parents and when we got engaged, he suggested we take a sailing holiday with them to Holland. I’d never considered sailing before but I had a lovely time in close quarters with my in-laws, which did bode well for the future.”
Sadly, her beloved father-in-law isn’t around any more. But Katie tells us she’s “incredibly close” to her mother-in-law, which has been a particular comfort to her given that she lost her own mother, Margaret, to Alzheimer’s at just 61.
Katie says, “I’ve been fortunate. I’m one of four. And Marion is really close to all my siblings and my nephews and nieces. They call her grandma. She was very supportive when my mum died.”
The presenter reveals that while her mum got on well with Marion, she was already starting to show signs of dementia when they met.
“When Marion met my mum for the first time, they had a lot in common. They were both French teachers for a start, but Mum’s dementia was starting. I remember knowing that Mum was a little bit confused about where she was.”
One of the greatest sadnesses of Katie’s life is that her mum never got to meet her youngest daughter. “Unfortunately, she never met Eleanor, who was born three years after Mum died,” she says. “And I think if I’m being really honest, that was when I probably grieved more. I felt so sad
‘Challenges are great. I’d love to learn to be a better cook or juggler’
that she wasn’t meeting this little one. I thought it was very unfair.”
But even though her mum was “very ill” when Natasha was born, Katie said she was “always lovely with her” and that “maternal instincts are always the last to go”.
One period of her life Katie will always look back on fondly is her stint on 2015’s Strictly, in which she came fourth. She says, “I had a complete laugh doing the show. I couldn’t believe I stayed in right to the end.”
But did she find it tough to hack the pace? “It completely took over my life for four or five months,” she admits. “It was tough and you get knackered, and then you get tired and emotional. But you do become really close to your partner.”
Katie was paired with dancerturned-judge Anton Du Beke, who she says was “a fantastic partner”. She says, “We’d laugh all the time. I know everybody he dances with says that, but he’s a lovely, kind, funny man. There was never a dull moment or awkward silences. We still see him and his wife Hannah, and they have the most adorable twins.”
Does Katie still dance, though, six years on? “I learnt a certain amount of dances, but that doesn’t mean
I can do them now,” she says.
Now that she’s ticked Strictly off her list, could she be tempted to try another hit reality show, such as I’m A Celebrity?
“I’m not going to lie, that one doesn’t appeal,” says Katie. “I mean, maybe there’ll come a time in my life when I want to sit in a cold castle in Wales or the Australian jungle. Never say never to these things.
“I don’t have a problem with the show. It’s great. It just doesn’t tickle my fancy.”
Although, that’s not to say she’s not open to the idea of taking part in other shows.
She explains, “I did a conducting one called Maestro. I think it’s great when you challenge yourself to do new things. I’d love to learn to be a better cook or juggler.
“I wouldn’t be good at Masterchef
because I’m not a very good cook. But it’d be great to try to get better.”
One show Katie is a fan of is Celebrity Bake Off, which she describes as “fantastic”. She says, “I’m always amazed by what they can do. If I get a Victoria sponge to rise, it’s an achievement!”
Before going into TV presenting, Katie studied at Cambridge University. But she can’t put her showbiz success down to Footlights, the uni’s famous amateur theatre club. She admits she “wasn’t very good” at acting, saying, “I auditioned but I didn’t get in. I was in Cambridge University
Light Entertainment Society. It was good fun but probably not as high quality as Footlights.”
That’s not to say she didn’t make some high-profile friends, though. “I was friends with David Wolstencroft, who created the BBC show Spooks,
and Mark Evans, who wrote BBC
Four comedy Bleak Expectations.
I don’t know if actress Nicola Walker was there at the same time as me but I love her work. I’m obsessing over her latest show, The Split.”
But it wasn’t just Katie mingling with future stars on campus. “Sacha Baron Cohen was in John’s year. And Rachel Weisz used to drift around campus looking glam but I didn’t know her. Alexander Armstrong was also a mate.”
Getting back to the Proms, what can fans expect this year? “I say this every year, and I keep saying it – there will be a phenomenal line-up for fans. I think the variety on offer will open their eyes – there is something to suit everyone’s tastes. It is a really well-thought-out programme with lots of treats along the way.”
KATIE DERHAM IS ONE OF THE TV AND RADIO PRESENTERS FOR THE BBC PROMS 2022, WHICH RUN FROM 15 JULY TO 10 SEPTEMBER AND WILL BE BROADCAST ON BBC TV, BBC RADIO 3, BBC SOUNDS AND BBC IPLAYER