At 84, Gloria Hunniford has earned a break.
When she first started working as a singer in her native Ireland at age seven, she was already seven. And in the 77 years since she has barely stopped.
Now a Loose Women regular and one of the hosts of BBC’s Rip Off Britain, she’s a staple on our screens each week.
However, she keeps working despite her passion for fighting charlatans and righting wrongs.
In an exclusive interview, she reveals it’s actually the only thing that can s ave her from her grief. She therefore made a commitment to keep things busy.
She lost her husband Stephen Way, 85, after 30 years, and Caron Keating, her daughter, to cancer, in just six months.
“Work makes me feel safe, because I have a structure, I know what I’m supposed to be doing”, she explains. “All the emotional stuff and all the heartbreak, that’s the hard bit to cope with.
As long as you can take your [self] for an hour from grief, it helps you unwind for a short while.
She continues, “I’ve worked since I was seven, and doing things and staying busy is good for my head.” I would find it miserable to not do anything. My way of coping wouldn’t be for everybody and I’m sure it’s quite controversial, but I love work. “
It’s been especially vital these past few months. Gloria – who turns 85 on April 10 – is currently experiencing a year of firsts without her beloved” Stevie “: the first Christmas, first birthday, first anniversary….
Six years after she divorced her husband, Don Keating, the father of her three children, she and the businessman have been living together since the middle of the 1990s.
She reveals that during the worst times I was at home on my own, she revealed that Caron and Stevie both passed away. And suddenly your mind wanders and you think: ‘ what happened there, for goodness ‘ sake? ‘. “
Gloria started singing Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 for a similar poignant reason, one year after losing Caron, who was just 41. While Gloria’s Rumba was given just two points by notoriously-harsh Craig Revel Horwood, she still loved it”. When Caron died, I said: ‘ I don’t think I’ll ever smile again’, “Gloria recalls”. One of my sons found that very sad, so when Strictly came up, they said: ‘ look, it’ll be good for you. ‘
“And it was. It gave me something to laugh about, it was a challenge, the people were lovely and the glitter was lovely, it was helpful.
When a child passes away, one of the hardest emotions is grief. You can’t carry a nine-month-old child, fall in love with it, or endure the agonizing loss. It’s indescribable. “
Gloria is best known for her campaigning work on the acclaimed BBC consumer series Rip Off Britain, which she has presented for the past 16 years, currently alongside Julia Somerville and Louise Minchin, despite clearly relishing trying something new – this spring will see her compete in Celebrity Bake Off.
Rightly proud of both programmes, she hopes to still be working on them at 90″. I have no plans to retire, she says, so it depends on whether the producers still want me when I’m 90.
“Work may retire me, or I may be unlucky enough to experience some pain, ache, or a situation where I can’t do it, but I want to do it for as long as they want me.”
Gloria is determined to wring the best out of each day. I’m glad to still be alive, “she explains when thinking about her upcoming birthday”. The years go by so bloody quickly.
“I don’t like the zeros – 60, 70 and 80, but once that zero has passed, you just continue.
I make an effort to never consider age excessively.
“But occasionally I hear myself mentioning it, such as when my gas meter is supposed to be read by the gas company.”
” I say: ‘ I am in my 80s you know, I’m in a vulnerable category. ‘ You eventually begin using it for yourself!
She’s certainly not letting her age put her off her ambitions.
She interviewed a number of A-listers, including Charlton Heston and Audrey Hepburn, while also serving as the host of the well-known chat show Sunday, Sunday in the 1980s. She would love to do it once more after more than 40 years.
” We had every Hollywood star that you can think of, “she smiles”. I loved conversing with people, so I’m so excited if someone suggested a chat show for the 80s?
Meanwhile Gloria’s latest venture sees her re-releasing her 1979 studio album A Taste of Hunni. Although she was referred to as Snow Leopard in her native Northern Ireland when she appeared on the television program The Masked Singer in 2022, her impressive vocals will be remembered by fans of the Masked Singer.
She says, “My dad was a magician by night and I asked to join him because we both worked for newspapers,” she says. We would play in churches, town halls, and schools, and they were called concert parties. There was no TV then, so that was everyone’s entertainment. “
In the 1960s and 1970s, Gloria released a number of singles and even backed Roy Orbison on his first tour of her native Northern Ireland in 1969.
Ten years later, she released the popular song A Taste of Hunni, which includes Feelings, You Are The Sunshine of My Life, and What the World Needs Now. Today, 46 years later, she’s just thrown a lavish album launch party with the likes of Sir Cliff Richard to celebrate its re-release. By the end of the week, she will be aware of how it is performing.
” To have a record out at this stage of my life is so exciting, “she smiles”. I’d pay anyone to bury some records I made in Ireland, as you know, but never see them again!
“But actually, I’m really pleased with this one – the song choice is good, the musicians are good, the arrangements are good and I could really sing in those days.
This album “ties up so many memories,” the artist says. It feels like my life has come full circle, so it’s a real thrill to have it re-released. “
Gloria ended up changing careers after being interviewed by the BBC in Belfast about her singing career. Out of the blue they offered her a job in broadcasting, with her new boss telling her: ‘ Remember, you’re as good as any bloke in this room. ‘” That took away any worry that I might have had about sexism, “she recalls.
She moved to London after starting her own Radio 2 show and became the first woman to do so. Before she joined Loose Women ten years ago, a number of programs awaited her.
” I love the camaraderie, “she says of the daytime show”. I find the morning meetings to be much more unpleasant than anything that happens on television.
Gloria may rely on her family to support her when times are difficult, but she also knows that work is her emotional crutch.
Without Stevie, her painful first Christmas, Paul and Michael, were instrumental in her recovery.
” I was dreading Christmas because Stevie and I had 30 Christmases together, but my boys really saved the festive season, “says Gloria, who lives in Kent..
Michael and my two Caron grandchildren spent three days with us while the youngest one, Michael, celebrated Christmas. Then, for the New Year’s Eve, we all traveled to France, spent a week in Fort Lauderdale, and spent the day there. My sons organised all of that, which was really kind.
“I believe you start to appreciate your children more and more as you get older. Since Stephen’s passing, my two boys have been so amazing. The best thing I’ve ever done in my life was to have children.
Gloria Hunniford’s album A Taste of Hunni is out now.
Source: Mirror
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