Ahead of his latest TV gig, Sing If You Can, Suzanne Byrne chats to TV host Vernon Kay and his mum Gladys and finds out how they celebrated Mother’s Day in the Kay household
“I used to wonder why there was a special day devoted to mothers”, reveals the very tall and handsome TV presenter Vernon Kay, as we sit in a magnificent kitchen just off Oxford Street in London, where TV Jean-Christophe Novelli is hosting a cookery demonstration. “But as I’ve got older I’ve realised that it does mean something to give mums a specific day for them to enjoy. It’s a time when you can pay your respects to them for all they’ve done for you.”
“And he certainly does that”, says Vernon’s mum, Gladys, who still carries a small heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain everywhere she goes, that Vernon bought for her for 89p when he was just eight-years-old. “There are usually flowers and a lovely gift, but on top of that this year he cooked me a lovely meal, now that he is starting to find his way around the kitchen.”
36-year-old Vernon, who is married to Strictly Come Dancing host Tess Daly, has recently taken a shine to cooking since he started training for the four triathlons he plans on completing this year. “I did two triathlons last year and I lost over a stone and a half which wasn’t a good look on me as I didn’t have that kind of weight to lose. It was because I was training so hard and I wasn’t fuelling my body properly. The last one that I did my mum came and watched and at the end she said ‘did you beat your time?’ And I was like ‘yeah I beat it by three minutes’. She then said, ‘Brilliant! But now pack it in and put some weight on!’ She gave me a right roasting when I crossed the finish line but that’s what mums are for! So this year I’m learning all about what I should and shouldn’t be eating, which Tess is thrilled about – I’m actually starting to do some of the cooking at home.”
The TV couple who have two daughters, Phoebe, six, and Amber, 1½, share a lot of the household chores, but Vernon takes charge of the school run. “The school run is my job, we get uniforms – I say we – Tess gets Phoebe’s uniform ready in the evening so it is all ready to go in the morning it’s breakfast, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, get dressed, clean teeth, brush hair, in the car, done!”
Vernon may make it sound simple, but he reassures me there is a whole lot of planning to make it runs so smoothly. “Because we are both freelance we don’t have a fixed diary, so it’s difficult juggling things around like childcare. Once we can get that in order, things run pretty smoothly – most of time. But like most children, the girls have their moments, but usually the threat of one of their favourite toys going in the bin is enough to put an end to it. That’s what my mum used for me, I think two Star Wars figures made it to the rubbish, and that was enough for me to stay in line most of the time.”
“It’s true”, agrees Gladys, “I never really had any trouble with either of my two boys. They weren’t wild or ever gave back any cheek.”
One thing Vernon vows to do differently from his dad Norman and his mum Gladys, whose great grandfather was from Ireland, is to give the girls plenty of encouragement to get out there and try different things. Vernon surprised his parents when he decided he wanted a career in the world of entertainment, as they always thought he would follow in Norman’s footsteps and become a lorry driver. “I was told all the way throughout my teenage years that I would be a lorry driver. It was always ‘well you will just get your HGV licence and go and join your dad’. I don’t think my parents ever said ‘come on, let’s do this’, like when I wanted to be a footballer and they never said ‘you’ve got to go to training’. I was never encouraged to go and do sports or whatever I wanted. For my kids, I want them to have that American mentality of you can achieve anything you put your mind to. I think here [in England] we don’t really motivate our children to get on in life. It’s our British stiff upper lip.”
Vernon has quite literally worked his way up the TV schedule on Saturdays, beginning with FBi on BBC in 2000, which he presented alongside Boyzone’s Keith Duffy. He went on to become a very prominent face on Channel 4’s Saturday afternoon strand T4, which saw him travel the world to interview superstars like Beyoncé and Tom Cruise, and then in 2006, after a number of other presenting gigs, he came to primetime Saturday night TV as the host of the revived Family Fortunes, now known as All Star Family Fortunes.
Vernon’s version of the long running game show – there have been 27 series – sees celebrities do battle in the name of charity. What are Vernon’s ultimate celebrity clans to do battle? “I think Prince William should come on with Kate and Harry and some of their mates. I have seen both of them out socially and they are really good fun and really nice guys – the kind of people you wish you were mates with. And no, we haven’t got the invite to the wedding – yet. Maybe they might need a DJ. . . I think they should go up against the Osbournes – regal royalty versus rock royalty. What a battle!”
While All Star Family Fortunes is off our screens until the autumn, Vernon is currently working on Sing If You Can, which he describes as a “celebrity singing show with a twist”, which kicks off in April on UTV. “I can’t say too much”, admits Vernon, “but I can guarantee it is going to be jam-packed full of laughs. Singing stars will be taken down a peg or two.”
You may also spot Vernon and his mum Gladys in a series of ads for Flora Cuisine, which the mother and son duo have just filmed – the first time they have worked together. Vernon, obviously no stranger to the camera, was surprised at how well Gladys coped with the bright lights of the studio, “I thought she was going to be like a rabbit in the headlights, but once the cameras started rolling she was like a pro.”
“Ah I wouldn’t say that”, laughs Gladys. “It’s all been new to me, I’ve been a bit like a fish out of water but I have Vernon looking after me so everything has been fine. And getting my hair and make-up done made me feel like a different person.”
Jean-Christophe Novelli has been working with Vernon and Gladys on the campaign, and they were delighted at the opportunity to pick up some cooking tips from the master chef himself, although Gladys has actually been on a break from kitchen duties recently.
“I’ve just had the plaster taken off my broken arm and I haven’t been able to cook anything for a couple of weeks. My husband Norman – who has never cooked in his life – has had to do everything. It was really strange seeing him the kitchen and I have to say he makes a really good fry-up. And Jean-Christophe has also shown me how to make a chicken stir-fry, something we would never have had when Vernon was growing up and I have to say it was quite tasty. I’ll be making it again.”
“He has quite a way with the ladies does Jean-Christophe”, says Vernon. “I mean he knows how to use that very French accent of his. He said to my mum ‘Gladys if you can’t understand what I am saying then just say so and I will show you what I mean . . . ’ I think she is now pretending not to understand him.”
With that, the Kays are summoned to the kitchen by Mr Novelli for a lesson in how to peel tomatoes . . . or did he say potatoes?
For more information about Flora Cuisine go to www.florahearts.com/cuisine
