Richmond resident and This Morning and Sky Sports presenter Ben Shephard reveals all
He’s shared a couch with Holly Willoughby, climbed a mountain with Cheryl Cole, and chats for hours on the phone to his friend, Kate Garraway, but what makes Sky Sports and This Morning presenter, Ben Shephard, happiest of all is hanging out at his home in Richmond with his wife and two sons.
“We’ve lived in Richmond for five and half years, now,” he tells The Green. “My wife, Annie, and I moved here from north London just before our eldest boy, Sam, was born, and we now have another son, Jack, who’s four. It’s such a beautiful area and we all love it here.
“My older sister, Alex, lives just around the corner from us with her family, which is great,” he continues. “Sam and Jack adore her little girl, Emily, and they enjoy playing together.
“I work a bit with Alex, too. She and her husband run a company called Altyerre, which offers courses inspiring people in the workplace, and I’m involved with it, too. I really like the fact that our two families are so close.”
Last year, Ben resigned from GMTV after being part of the show for a decade, but the 36-year-old presenter has no regrets. A passionate football fan, he now hosts Goals on Sunday for Sky Sports, and spends the rest of his time being a hands-on dad back home in Richmond.
“I was ready to move on and face fresh challenges,” he says. “The good thing is that I don’t have to get up before the crack of dawn any more, which is bliss. When I did breakfast telly, I was awake at 3.30am and too tired to eat breakfast.
“These days, Sam and Jack run into the bedroom at about 6.30am and wake me up. I can actually make breakfast and eat it with them, too. One morning we made a double Ferris wheel with Sam for his ‘Show and tell’ at school. Getting my boys ready and taking them to school are the highlights of my life. Picking them up from school is a joy, too.
“In fact being with them is the best part of my life. When I go away for work, I miss them more and more each time. They squabble like other siblings, but most of the time they get on brilliantly. It’s lovely because when we go out somewhere they always have each other to play with. They’re proper little buddies. They’re so bright, enthusiastic and chatty, and I cherish every moment with them.”
However, Ben does miss his on- and off-screen camaraderie with former fellow presenter, Kate Garraway.
“She’s a good friend and I speak to her on the phone regularly,” he says. “It’s comforting to know that the world of the Garraways is as mad and crazy as ever.
“She and I went through extraordinary times in our lives together, such as getting married and having children, and all the excitement and traumas that go with them, while holding down a job that gives you only four hours’ sleep a night. She’s a brilliant broadcaster and I would jump at the chance to work with her again.”
As well as spending more time with his family since leaving GMTV, Ben, who also presented The Xtra Factor and The Krypton Factor, and was cast in a cameo role in the Harry Potter film, The Half-Blood Prince, can now focus more on health and fitness.
“After dropping the boys off at school, I get down to some exercise,” he says. “Even when it’s chucking it down outside, I’m never happier than when I’m getting really sweaty and going for a run.
“Last year, I helped raise money by running for a children’s heart unit fund, and this year I’ll be cycling 145 miles one way and running 145 miles back the other, on a seven-day charity event.”
He has also been helping to spearhead a Tropicana fruit juice campaign, which is aimed at waking the nation up with a smile.
“According to scientific research carried out by Tropicana, the song most likely to get both men and women going in the morning is Take That’s ‘Greatest Day’.
“I absolutely love this song as it was released when I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief. Every time I hear it, I’m back on that mountain with Cheryl Cole, Fearne Cotton and Gary Barlow, watching the sun rise.”
Favourite Richmond eaterie: Petersham Nurseries. “It’s lovely taking tea – or lunch - surrounded by all those flowers and plants.”
Best interview: “Will Smith was hilarious, and I’ve had amusing chats with Ben Stiller. I also found actresses, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale and Halle Berry pretty amazing.”
Worst interview: “I had a tough time with Jimmy Nail. He was the first interview I ever did and I just didn't read his mood and the situation. When I asked him to do an introduction to camera, saying, ‘Hi, this is Jimmy Nail and you’re watching T4,’ he refused. I thought he was joking, but he was deadly serious.”
Celebrity crush: “Kim Cattrall! After watching her in films such as Police Academy, Porky’s and Mannequin, I had a thing about her. So when I got to interview her after the second series of Sex and the City, she bowled me over. She has incredible charisma. She’s also focussed, ambitious and powerful; all those things that a young man who went to boarding school would find attractive.”
Food phobia: “Ever since I was forced to eat it at school, I’ve loathed the stuff.”
Pet hate: “Traffic jams. I’d rather get a train, cycle or walk than get stuck on a road in a car. I can’t bear wasting time.”
Ben Shephard has teamed up with Tropicana to help provide a daily ray of sunshine to people’s mornings.
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Comment by: dcfa67
22 April 2011 - 12:03
What was Ben forced to eat at school that has made him loath it ever since ? Reading the quote, it sounds like it was every sort of food and I'm sure that can't be right !!!
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