‘SOMETIMES THINGS GET EXPLOSIVE’

Debbie Keeble, 52, founded Heck sausages with her husband andrew, 52. They live in north Yorkshire and have four children –Jamie, 27, Guy, 26, Roddy, 24, and 22-year-old Ellie, who works in HR at Heck.

As the daughter of a farmer, I’m used to living and working with family. But I’m not sure Ellie is quite so keen. She’s looking for a new place to live, and I’ll miss her.

She started in our finance department after college. But she was a bit of a skiver. The head of finance would say, ‘I can’t find Ellie, she’s disappeared,’ and she’d have gone to the gym because she was bored. I tried telling her off, but I knew she wasn’t happy there. Since joining the HR team nine months ago, she’s blossomed.

We get on well generally, but sometimes things get explosive. She’s like her father and speaks her mind. I’m not a volatile person, but if I do blow, it’s big. I’ll take myself out of the room to let things calm down.

The only time she gets on my nerves is when she plays me off against her father. Not long ago, we decided we needed a pool car for several workers to share and he let her choose. She turned up in a white Volkswagen 4x4, which was impractical.

But I’m really impressed with Ellie now. Most mums never get to see how brilliant their daughters are at work, but I see first hand how she’s matured. When she started working here nearly four years ago, she was very shy. But now she’s happy to give presentations to our 100 employees.

Ellie SAYS: I admit, I am a bit of a daddy’s girl. Mum is stricter. She can stress me out, particularly if she’s asking me to do something when I’m busy. I hate that pressure and have a fiery temper.

I’ve matured a lot in the past four years and much of that is thanks to Mum. But I wouldn’t say I’m any less feisty. Sometimes, Dad will intervene if we row, but he knows which battles to pick and when to leave us to it.

‘i Tried Telling her off’