Born in Sunderland, Lauren Laverne, 43, formed the band Kenickie when she was a teenager and released two albums before becoming an award-winning broadcaster. She presents BBC 6 Music’s breakfast show, and has hosted Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs since 2018. Her new TV series is The Big Design Challenge on Sky Arts. She is married with two sons and lives in London.
When were you happiest?
There are different flavours of happy, but I think my favourite is the quiet contentment when several generations of family are sitting together watching a crowd-pleaser like Harry Potter on the telly.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Deflection – what about you?
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Unkindness, meanness. People who could make the world better and choose to make it worse.
Aside from a property, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?
A caravan. I was brought up going on caravan holidays – but we quickly realised that a double-axle caravan was too much of a commitment and sold it.
Describe yourself in three words
Hopeful, curious and thoughtful, in the sense that I am always thinking about things.
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If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
The concept of polite disagreement.
What makes you unhappy?
I find it very difficult when the people I care about are unhappy.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Evanna Lynch who plays Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films.
What was the last lie that you told?
Oh, what a lovely hat.
What is your most unappealing habit?
I have a tendency to take on a bit too much and then complain about it in my head afterwards.
What scares you about getting older?
Losing people.
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
I always feel like I’m catching up because I didn’t go to university, so War and Peace and Proust.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to be like my dad, who was an academic, because he had an office packed full of books, always had loud music on, and seemed to get to do what he wanted.
Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Anonymity. It’s not good for human beings to be famous, even though it’s the thing lots of people seem to want.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I never feel guilty about pleasure.
What was the best kiss of your life?
The first with my husband, 20 years ago. We worked together on a pop TV show in the early 00s. He invited me to a gig and we both thought other people would come, but nobody did. We realised that it was Valentine’s Day and ended up getting together.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
My biggest disappointment is always myself. That’s my Catholic upbringing.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
It would have been lovely to have grown up in private like a lot of my friends.
When did you last cry, and why?
The Strictly Come Dancing final almost destroyed me. I was howling all the way through – John and Johannes and then Rose and Giovanni. Oh my God.
What would you like to leave your children?
The knowledge that they were absolutely adored for exactly who they are.
What has been your closest brush with the law?
I did once see someone getting arrested while listening to Judas Priest’s Breaking the Law. It was a moment of music synchronicity.
How would you like to be remembered?
I’d rather be enjoyed while I am still here.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
The difference between simple and easy.
What happens when we die?
Life goes on.
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