Heart Radio’s Pandora Christie talks about her tragic, heartbreaking life experiences and her friendship with co-host and new dad, Mark Wright.
With more than 20 years of radio under her belt and a magnetic personality that lights up the airwaves, Pandora Christie is one of our best-loved broadcast stars. And the 42‑year‑old Londoner recently teamed up with fellow DJ and good friend Mark Wright for the Heart Live in Ibiza event at Café Mambo.
Here, she opens up to OK! about her friendship with Mark, overcoming terrible hardship – and why she would love to walk down the aisle with her boyfriend of six years, although she admits he’s not quite on the same page yet.
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Spending time with Mark is “so much fun,” according to Pandora, who claims it’s always filled with laughter. She claims that “Mark is the best.” One of the most straightforward men. He is lovely, but he is also very generous.
One of their highlights in Ibiza was the surprise appearance of football legend Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen, who dropped by to enjoy the music.
According to Pandora, “Wayne entered and surprised Mark on stage.” “Rooney, Rooney!” was the “The crowd went wild and yelled “Rooney, Rooney!” to the crowd. Coleen performed and sang there. She had a wonderful time and appeared gorgeous.
Then, Jack surprised his girlfriend, Hannah, by proposing while Jax Jones was playing his set. That basically sums up Ibiza, in my opinion.
While many guests enjoyed themselves into the early hours, Pandora planned events for the day afterward. Everyone else had a hard time, but I decided to go swimming in the hotel’s private beach at 8am, “she reveals.” I awoke as a daisy after being shattered. There are many of those kinds of things in Cuba.
Although Mark and his wife Michelle Keegan are now parents, he’s still very much the life of the party, Pandora says. “He tried to get me on the ringos (inflatable, doughnut‑shaped tubes pulled across the sea by a speedboat),” she recalls. “But I’m scared of going too far into the sea, so there was no way. I think my heart would have stopped.”
She is yet to meet Mark’s four‑month‑old daughter Palma, but says he lights up when he talks about his little girl. “What a beautiful family. It’s just so lovely that they’re now parents and embracing it,” Pandora says. “He and Michelle are the happiest, most loved‑up couple I’ve ever seen. And I mean that. They dote on each other so much.”
Which of the two pals is more likely to dance on the Café Mambo tables, according to the statistics? Me, 100 per cent, “Pandora laughs”. until I’m instructed to fall asleep. However, I’m also the one who leaves home.
Although Pandora hosts Heart’s mid-morning weekday show, her path to radio stardom was not straightforward. She defied the odds to establish a successful career and own her own home after growing up in the shadows of homelessness.
She recalls being just five when she and her mother, an alcoholic who suffered from depression, were evicted from their house in London and became homeless. “We’d sleep in alleyways, on park benches, behind trees. I didn’t even realise how bad things were at the time. Mum protected me from it,” she says. “She’ll always be my hero for that.”
She was nine when she witnessed her mother pass away from a heart attack, which has influenced her lifelong campaigning for foster care and mental health. She serves as a spokesperson for the National Fostering Group, the Care Leaver Covenant, and the Fostering Network.
She says, “She was on the sofa,” recalling the moment that changed her life. I initially assumed that she was making fun of me, just like she does now. She was constantly attempting to lift my spirits. But then she began to convulse, and I froze. When she turned her back and began frothing at the mouth, I didn’t realize what was happening. When I screamed for my brother, an ambulance was called out and we were able to get help.
“Mum tried to protect me despite her difficulties,” she said. She had depression, but no one ever discussed mental health until then. Simply put, it was hidden. Because others couldn’t, I’m speaking out now.
Finding stability with foster parents Tony and Ruby Hoyte, a couple from southeast London, helped save Pandora from “living on park benches and in police cells,” and they supported her endeavors. She says, “They gave me the best help possible when they learned I wanted to be a DJ.”
Pandora’s introduction to radio began on Heart’s promo team, handing out flyers at shopping centres and events, while shadowing producers and engineers to learn the ropes. She landed a Sunday request show, then a breakfast slot at Westside Radio, Southall.
She moved to Global’s Capital FM to hold the 10am-1pm national slot, where she first started out with Choice FM. She transitioned to KISS FM in June 2016 and co-hosted her TV show Hit Afternoons on 4Music. She reappeared to Global radio on April 8 to host Heart’s mid-morning program and Club Classics on Saturday nights.
She remains one of the station’s most popular voices, and her broadcasting longevity is testament to her talent. She’s interviewed stars such as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Tom Cruise, Rita Ora, Ed Sheeran and director Danny Boyle, and last week interviewed some of the top F1 drivers at the McLaren Racing Live event in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Off-air, she enjoys new experiences and is a huge fan of karate, mountain climbing, and skydiving. She’s also working on a self-help book, focusing on mental health advocacy and drawing from her own experiences.
In the future, Pandora intends to adopt or foster a teenager, continuing her work with young people who are in need. However, she hasn’t excluded having biological children. She acknowledges that “my maternal instinct has come later in life.” That would be amazing if it did occur. That’s acceptable as well if it doesn’t. With whatever life throws my way, I can’t help but feel at ease.
And Pandora hasn’t let her hardship define her, despite the hardships of her childhood. I’ve always said, “Do not let your past determine your future.” She asserts that no matter how bad things are right now, you can overcome anything if you have passion and drive.
The purchase of Pandora’s apartment in southwest London marked a significant milestone. “It was really important for me to buy my house because I’ve been without for so long,” I said. having a home away from home. I probably live alone because of this. She states, “It’s my haven.”
Although the two have been together for more than six years, they now reside in separate homes across the street from one another. And Pandora doesn’t see any reason why that shouldn’t change, even if they do get married. “I’m mad, but I still want to live there,” I said. You can still find your sanctuary in marriage, she says.
Although her partner is still skeptical about marriage, Pandora is optimistic. He doesn’t recognize the need, but marriage is beautiful and forever binding, in my opinion. She chuckles, “Let me work on it.” Ibiza might just be the ideal location for it, according to the saying “where there is a will, there is a way”!
On Heart, from 10am to 1pm, on Monday through Friday, listen to Pandora. Follow Pandora on Instagram at @pandorapresenter.
