AtHomeWithLorraineKelly2016 - 71

paying to do it literally can't miss. It's basically wealthy, fat
foreigners with more money than sense, who know they're
going to make a kill because the animals are half dead. And
then they shoot it and take photographs. Why would you do
that? I don't get it, it's terrible. That swine of a dentist from
Minnesota who shot Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe - that's
happening every day. I just can't understand how they can
kill these magniﬁcent beasts.'

MY ALL-TIME IDOLS

Lorraine has done many exclusive in-depth interviews over
the past year, including Annie Lennox opening up about her
daughter almost losing her life in a kayaking accident; Rod
Stewart on his wife Penny, and how his kids at ﬁrst thought
she was a money grabber, and Vicky Pattison, from reality
TV show Geordie Shore, on managing her depression.
Modest as ever about her interviewing skills, Lorraine
says: 'Do you know, I've been doing this for so long it's very
rarely I meet someone for the ﬁrst time now. Maybe if they're
just starting out, but they feel comfortable with me because
their mum usually watches the programme.
'When I interviewed Oprah Winfrey, I was beside myself
- she has been an idol of mine for so long. And if I'd ever
had the opportunity to interview David Bowie, I would
not have been able to speak, because I'd have been in such
awe. I do get starstruck, but with people the younger
members of my team barely know, such as Phil Oakey from
The Human League or The Cure's Robert Smith - those I
remember from back in the old days. It's really funny.'

LORRAINE
LOOKING
RELAXED
IN A BIKINI
AND SARONG
AFTER A DAY
TRACKING
GORILLAS IN
UGANDA

ON THE COUCH WITH...

'Stand out celebs I've interviewed include Tom Hanks and
Hugh Jackman. Neither of them has an ego and they make
life easy. The thing is, these stars have to take part in
interviews - it's part of the deal that they have to promote
the ﬁlm they're starring in. Either they do it with good
grace - some are exceptional like Will Smith and George
Clooney - or they hate it or are uncomfortable with it, but
it's not something they can refuse to do.
'There's just no point Harrison Ford sitting there looking
grumpy or Robert Downey Jr keeping us waiting for two and
a half hours because the room was too cold. To be fair to him,
it was one of his staﬀ who said that. I said to his people, "We've
been waiting for quite a long time, but if the room is still too
cold there's nothing we can do and we have to get on with
our lives now - we've got things to do!" When I did ﬁnally
interview him, he was ﬁne - not the easiest, but all right.
I asked him, "Is the room all right?" and he said, "What?"
'Some of these stars are surrounded by people making
us think they are objectionable, but actually they're not.
Usually it's the entourage not the person, and the bigger
the staﬀ, the bigger the pain in the bum.
'One of my best interviews was with Cher. I love her
- she's one of the nicest people I've met. She's a class act
with nothing to prove. I interviewed her recently and she
looks younger now than when I ﬁrst spoke to her about
10 years ago. She's very upfront about all the work she's
had done and she looks ﬁne.'

BIKINI BOD

It was only last year Lorraine wowed everyone by being
photographed in her bikini, with no airbrushing at
all. It was to launch a get ﬁt section of her show called The
Bikini Promise. This year it's The Bikini Promise + One.
'We've just done the promotional photos with Maxine
Jones [Lorraine's zumba instructor]. I mean, look at that
body - she is absolutely beautiful. And I'm not bad.'

In the photographs, Lorraine's scar from a terrible
horse-riding accident four years ago is visible. 'Look at
my leg, it's pretty nasty. I hope I've inspired other women
to display their blemishes, as it is almost giving people
permission and saying you don't need to be perfect.
That's why I was so adamant I didn't want the pictures
retouched. You can see my lumps and bumps, my big scar.
I've had a kid. I'm 56. I don't think anyone looks like the
models we see in the media - most are airbrushed to within
an inch of their lives.
'We did the launch outside, with me dancing in my bikini,
and you can't retouch that. It made me realise how selfconscious I am about my scar - it's big because it was a bad
injury. But when I saw the photos, you can see it, of course
you can, but it's not as bad as I thought, which is good.'

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW...

Life is pretty good for Lorraine at the moment. Why is
that? 'When you get to a certain age, you are a bit kinder
to yourself. Work is great, because I've got over the nerves,
and I've got the experience. No matter what happens on
set, I could handle it, because I've seen it all, from naked
men running around in the background to terrible stories
breaking live on the show.'
'Rosie, my daughter, is really settled and happy. She
has just graduated from Edinburgh University having
studied journalism, and she's about to go into the world.
'I have good family and pals - that is the most important
thing, even though my job is fabulous. I really haven't
planned my career, but I never take it for granted because
it could end tomorrow. I'm very happy to continue while
people want to watch, though. It's an amazing job.'
And we do want to, Lorraine, we do.
www.athomemagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2016 | 071

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