{"id":508857,"date":"2025-10-18T07:24:29","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/508857\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T07:24:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:24:29","slug":"pride-of-britain-host-carol-vorderman-explains-romantic-liaisons-while-being-single-for-15-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/508857\/","title":{"rendered":"Pride of Britain host Carol Vorderman explains romantic liaisons while ‘being single for 15 years’"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: Presenter Carol Vorderman explains why this year has been life-changing as she opens up about her ‘special friends’, her changing style – and why the Pride of Britain Awards are a ‘reboot’ for her\"CarolCarol has been a familiar face on television for more than 40 years(Image: WireImage)<\/p>\n

Carol Vorderman <\/a>has been celebrating the extraordinary acts of ordinary people at the annual Pride of Britain Awards<\/a> for 26 years now. As she chats to OK ! about the upcoming ceremony, which tends to deliver as many tears as it does rounds of applause, the former Countdown star, 64, reveals \u201cnothing comes close\u201d to giving her what she gets from the month she\u2019s immersed in the Pride of Britain Awards, each and every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been more than half of my adult life now, and every year is like a reset for me. Some people\u2019s year might \u2018start\u2019 in September when the schools go back, mine starts in October when it\u2019s Pride of Britain time,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI\u2019m a big list-maker, and there are different categories in life, like health, wealth, career, the kids, family, friends, social media and fitness and when Pride Of Britain comes around, it doesn\u2019t just affect the career box, it affects all of it, and it\u2019s the only bit of work that does. It\u2019s a reboot, a time to think, \u2018What are the important things in life?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarolCarol has been hosting the Pride of Britain Awards for 26 years(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Moreover, her knowledge of past winners and nominees is almost encyclopaedic, which isn\u2019t a total surprise given Carol\u2019s mathematical brain.<\/p>\n

That said, there are a few who still stand out, such as Jean Forrest, a foster mum who won the Careworker of the Year award in 2000, and civil rights activist Dr Paul Stephenson, who was presented with the Lifetime Achievement by actor-comedian Lenny Henry<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n

The stories and people have changed, Carol says, but the spirit of the Awards hasn\u2019t. While she knows \u201cno one is indispensable\u201d, she wants to remain a part of them for many years to come. \u201cIt\u2019s not a job you do lightly, and I am so, so grateful for it, especially now with all the turbulence in the world,\u201d she explains, quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible reminder of the goodness of people. There is a lot of darkness in the world, so the good things need to be shouted about. Standing up for what you believe in is the only way to make change, and every single one of our award winners has done that \u2014 even though they\u2019re always, always so modest about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarolCarol says the Awards are her time to ‘reboot'(Image: WireImage)<\/p>\n

She also loves the mix of celebrity and expert judges, which this year includes Coleen Rooney, Michael Sheen, Lucy Bronze, Pete Wicks<\/a> and Kate Garraway<\/a>, from the celeb side, and former Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and Professor Kamila Hawthorne, a GP, as experts. But her favourite part, she laughs, is meeting the \u201cyoungsters\u201d on the panel, especially those she admits she\u2019s \u201cnever heard of\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it sounds a bit perverse but I love meeting the ones I maybe don\u2019t know, because I\u2019ve met most of the oldies like me many times before. I remember when [the YouTube star] KSI was a judge, I said to him, \u2018Should I call you Mr K?\u2019 I had no idea he was world famous, so it was fascinating getting to know him. I like the inter-generational element of it a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also developed a genuine and deep bond with her fellow host Ashley Banjo, 37, who joined her in 2021. They met after Carol struck up a friendship in the I\u2019m A Celebrity jungle with Ashley\u2019s brother Jordan, and he\u2019s become a welcome addition not only in her life in general, but with their co-hosting duties too.<\/p>\n

\"PrideLucy Bronze and Coleen Rooney are among this year’s judges(Image: Philip Coburn \/Daily Mirror)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a great inter-generational respect there between us, and I love that,\u201d she smiles. \u201cI think you can learn a lot from other people, older and younger. My mum lived with me for over 30 years until she died eight years ago, and I know she learned from my kids, and my kids learned from her. We came as a foursome. I\u2019m a great believer in that kind of living.<\/p>\n

“My son still lives with me, very happily \u2014 we laugh every day and we never argue or even exchange a cross word. It\u2019s quite normal in a lot of places in Asia, and in the Mediterranean. But in the UK, we have this idea that you have to leave your home when you hit 18 and only speak once a week on a Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her return to the red carpet comes after what has been a difficult year for Carol, who was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting in 2000.<\/p>\n

She made a shock announcement in October last year that she was stepping down from her Sunday LBC radio show after a \u201chealth scare\u201d. She confessed she felt \u201cfed up\u201d having to make the decision, but wanted to redress her work-life balance.<\/p>\n

One year on, it\u2019s been a longer road than anticipated for her to, as she puts it, \u201cget her mojo back\u201d. \u201cThis year has been a bit hellish healthwise,\u201d she shares. \u201cI\u2019ve been very poorly, not related to the burnout but something entirely different. I\u2019m on the right medications now, but it\u2019s only in the last month or so that I felt I\u2019ve got my mojo back. So watch out, world!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarolCarol says she’s a year of fun with good friends and family<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also been refuelling her life in other ways. \u201cI\u2019ve had lots of mini-breaks and holidays with friends \u2014 gay friends, female friends I\u2019ve had for 50 years, or some I\u2019ve known for 10. I\u2019ve been back to horse racing, I\u2019ve travelled to the States, to France, to everywhere, actually!\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also reached a point in life where she is happy to cherish those who feed her soul. \u201cGoing back and seeing old friends has been wonderful. And the right friends, too. I think I\u2019ve managed to drop all the bad ones. It\u2019s easy to forget how much your old friends love you. I\u2019ve had messages to say, \u2018Oh, come and stay in our villa\u2019, or \u2018Come and visit us on our boat\u2019. It\u2019s lovely to be so loved, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twice married-and-divorced Carol almost broke the internet a few years ago when she addressed her views on romantic relationships. During an appearance on This Morning , she revealed she preferred to have a set of \u201cspecial friends\u201d to a singular, exclusive, monogamous relationship. Given the subsequent furore and lingering fascination with her love life, does she ever regret being so honest?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really did a few headlines and I couldn\u2019t understand why, because at that point I\u2019d been practising it for a decade,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI\u2019d say I\u2019ve been single for 15 years, and I\u2019ve had some fantastic adventures and I\u2019ve loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CarolThe presenter loves living with and learning from her son<\/p>\n

Delving further into her reasoning, she adds, \u201cMy brain never stops, and my capacity for adventure is huge. So, I don\u2019t ever want to ask someone else again for permission to do something. It\u2019s just not my nature. I\u2019ve been married, I was happily married and I\u2019ve got wonderful children. I have so much love in my life, and people who will come on adventures with me. I\u2019ve got one friend who goes to the International Space Station every year, so I get a couple of phone calls from there. It\u2019s wonderful! And I\u2019m doing nothing wrong, because I\u2019m single.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we spoke to Carol ahead of her triumphant red carpet return to celebrate all that\u2019s inspiring in Britain, the next thing to tick off her list was… the outfit. After last year\u2019s showstopping, floor-length mirrored gown we have high expectations, we tell her. \u201cWell, I\u2019ve bought a beautiful but very modest dress, so I\u2019m going to put that forward as an option, but I\u2019ve no idea if the stylist has other ideas,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI don\u2019t particularly enjoy getting dressed up any more, because I\u2019m older now. I used to be quite a flamboyant dresser.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019d love to be out there in the shortest dress or dressed top-to-toe in leather,\u201d she says jokingly, before quickly adding, \u201cOh, not for Pride of Britain of course! But maybe one day I\u2019ll do that again, who knows?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch The Daily Mirror Pride Of Britain Awards with P&O Cruises on Thursday 23 October at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Presenter Carol Vorderman explains why this year has been life-changing as she opens up about her ‘special…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508858,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[162959,748,130760,17302,393,4884,31192,166550,1144,47545,72932,712,817,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-508857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"category-uk","9":"category-united-kingdom","10":"tag-ashley-banjo","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-carol-vorderman","13":"tag-coleen-rooney","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-kate-garraway","17":"tag-michael-sheen","18":"tag-northern-ireland","19":"tag-pete-wicks","20":"tag-pride-of-britain-awards","21":"tag-scotland","22":"tag-this-morning","23":"tag-uk","24":"tag-united-kingdom","25":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115393977945023108","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}