Broadcaster Katie Derham tells Charlotte Williamson about the Proms, why she believes in love not money and spending time with her girls
“This is how we sit when we’re watching TV together,” laughs her husband John Vincent at the w&h shoot as he and Katie snuggle up on the sofa for a picture. And what might the couple be watching? “Oh, Breaking Bad, Fast and Furious 8…”
He’s joking (perhaps), but it would seem that the wholesome, butter wouldn’t-melt public image of Katie Derham is quite different to Private Katie, who enjoys a glass of wine and, according to her husband, “is always first on the dance floor and last to leave a party.” She’s also curious, friendly and a super-fast talker. And although John is the co-founder of the Leon chain of healthy fast food restaurants, Katie quite happily tucks into a plate of chips for lunch (with greens on the side).
The second of four children, she grew up in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where her father was a chemist and her mother a French teacher. After reading economics at Cambridge, Katie, 47 this month, started as a researcher on Radio 4’s Money Box before joining ITV news as the arts correspondent. Aged 27, she became the youngest ever newsreader on British TV. Katie has a strong musical background, playing the piano and violin, and has been presenting the Proms on the BBC since 2010. She is also a presenter on Radio 3 and came fourth on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015. She met John, 45, at university and they married in 1999. They live with their children – Natasha, 17, and Eleanor, 12 – in West Sussex.
There’s always an enormous energy at the Proms, partly because of all the enthusiasm, partly because of the standing audience, and partly because it really is open to a wide variety of people.
This story is from the July 2017 edition of Woman & Home.
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This story is from the July 2017 edition of Woman & Home.
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