2 days ago
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Born in Cumbria, Helen Skelton, 42, began her broadcasting career at BBC Radio Cumbria and Newsround. From 2008 to 2013, she was a Blue Peter presenter. Her other credits include reporting on the London 2012 Olympics and presenting Countryfile and BBC Morning Live; she also voices Annie in Fireman Sam. In 2023, she published her autobiography, In My Stride. A new series of her show Lost and Found in the Lakes starts on 5 January on BBC One. She lives in Cumbria and has three children with her former husband, Richie Myler.
What is your greatest fear?
Getting to the end and thinking that I haven’t laughed enough.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Jealousy. It’s the thief of joy.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
After the 2012 Olympics I hosted the parade. I had on a little skirt and when the prime minister came on everyone cheered. I thought: “Oh my God, they love David Cameron,” but they were cheering because my skirt had blown up, and I’d flashed my knickers at him.
Describe yourself in three words
Chaotic, warm, northern.
What makes you unhappy?
Grief. It’s one of those things you have to embrace; you grieve situations and jobs and friendships and relationships as well as people. It’s a heavy emotion.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Kate Hudson.
What scares you about getting older?
Losing my eyesight – I live for the view, and the sunset and the sunrise.
What would your superpower be?
To fly.
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
My new year resolution is actually to read all the classics and I’m ashamed that I haven’t read everything by the Brontë sisters.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A teacher.
What do you owe your parents?
They are professional grandparents and very good at helping but not patronising me, which is a very difficult thing to balance.
To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
To Gorka Márquez, who was my Strictly partner, for not winning the glitterball in 2022.
When’s the last time you changed your mind about something significant?
There’s a house near me that I adore and it came up for sale, and I got to the point of nearly buying it and then pulled out because I’m trying to be sensible.
What would you like to leave your children?
Good memories. When I’m gone, I want them to feel that they were always my No 1 priority.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
More sleep – my children do not sleep.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who made you think that anything’s possible. I did three marathons in a day once but walking the high-wire at Battersea Park station was the challenge I loved most because I had to master a skill.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
That you get out of life what you put in. When you grow up on a farm you literally reap what you sow.
Tell us a joke
What do you call a man with a spade in his head? Doug. What do you call a man without a spade in his head? Douglas.
Tell us a secret
I can milk a cow.
