Saturday Magazine – July 20, 2019

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 5

‘Once it

gets going,

it’s such a

fast-moving

train – it’s

all pretty

full-on’

INTERVIEW

have to handle it,’ she says. ‘The day that
I don’t get a bit nervous, especially before
something like the Last Night, where there’s
five million people watching, would be
worrying. That said, you don’t want to be
a jibbering wreck... you don’t want Strictly
Come Dancing quickstep nerves, where you
can’t feel your legs when the music starts,’
she adds with a laugh, recalling her time on
the BBC show.
Talking of Strictly, it’s almost that time of
year again, too – when the next bunch of
intrepid contestants are announced. And
we can’t resist asking Katie who she would
like to see take a turn on the dance floor.

‘I would love my Proms and Radio 3

colleague Petroc Trelawny to do it. That

would be phenomenal. It’s most unfair of me

because I have no idea if he wants to do it

and I’m just putting him out there,’ she says.

Katie has been a part of the line-up

on BBC Radio 3’s flagship drive-time

programme, In Tune, since 2017 and

she’ll continue to juggle the show with her

Proms work over the summer. When she’s

not broadcasting, she’s working alongside

her business partner, the BAFTA-nominated

producer and director Jane Gerber, on their

production and media strategy company,

Peanut & Crumb.

But Katie confesses she still has a big

ambition left to fulfil. ‘I would love to have

my own gardening show,’ she smiles. ‘I’ve

gone mad for gardening recently. For years

I ignored this green stuff outside my house

that seemed to vaguely look after itself, and

then I realised how amazing it was and that

I wanted to start growing more. My dad has

green fingers and when my mum was alive

she loved it, too. I suppose it was natural

that I got into it. So I really hope someone

out there is reading this shameless pitch,’

she adds, with a laugh.

We couldn’t think of anyone more suited

to the job than multitalented Katie.

Jess Gillam

(left) and

Suzy Klein

As well as the Apollo 11 mission, other

prominent themes in the Proms line-up this

season include Earth and the environment,

with three major works reflecting the

changing world around us, and ‘Henry

Wood at 150’. It’s a nod to the 150th year

since the Proms founder’s birth – the man

whose mission it was to bring the best

of classical music to the widest possible

audience by making tickets affordable.

Katie will be heading up the TV and radio

coverage – 25 concerts will go out across

BBC1, BBC2, BBC Four and CBeebies, as

well as every note broadcast live on BBC

Radio 3 – and she’ll have a few new

colleagues. Saxophonist Jess Gillam will

join the core presenting line-up, alongside

Suzy Klein and Tom Service.

She’s also hosting Saturday night

magazine show Proms Encore (formerly

Proms Extra) on BBC2, broadcast this

year from a specially constructed outdoor

bandstand across the road from the Royal

Albert Hall. Each programme will see

high-profile guest commentators from the

classical world and musical performances.

‘Once it What’s on at The Proms

gets going,

it’s such a

fast-moving

train – it’s

all pretty

full-on’