Roman Kemp shares a close relationship with his dad Martin and he’s said a few touching things over the years about their bond.
The radio presenter, who hosts The One Show and The Finish Line, has worked alongside Spandau Ballet star Martin on several occasions.
From a sad confession about Martin having ‘no friends’ to his frustration over Roman’s mental health, here’s everything the 31-year-old has said about their relationship.
Roman Kemp dad
Last year, Roman admitted that his dad Martin doesn’t have “one friend”. He was discussing his dad’s fame and admitted it can be “lonely”.
Talking to the Radio Times at the time, Roman explained: “If someone thinks about fame, they think about the best parts of it. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a sob story for famous people they do have it good.
“But it’s also very lonely. My dad does not have one friend.”
He then sweetly said his dad Martin’s “favourite person” is his wife, Shirlie.
Roman on his mental health
Over the last few years, Roman has been open about his mental health struggles. He has also tried to help others, presenting a documentary about men’s mental health. Roman also worked alongside Kate, Princess of Wales, to explore mental health among young people.
It came after Roman lost his close friend Joe Lyons. He tragically took his own life in 2020.
Roman dealt with his own mental health struggles, explaining that during his teen years he suffered from depression. But he said at first, dad Martin was “frustrated”.
He told the Express in 2022: “When I was around 15, I had a lot of characteristics that people can brush aside as puberty. But at that time my mum was very much up on it.”
Speaking about dad Martin, he said: “I used to come downstairs in the morning and I remember my dad used to get so frustrated because he’d be like, ‘Why are you not chirpy? Why are you saying how are you? Why are you not asking me what my day is?’
“And the honest answer is I didn’t want to interact. I didn’t want a chat at all.”
View this post on Instagram
Roman Kemp on ‘difficulty’ over his mental health
Roman also said it was “difficult” to open up to his dad about his mental health to begin with. He told the Express in 2022: “My dad comes from a generation, comes from a household where mental health wasn’t spoken about. It wasn’t shunned but it just wasn’t spoken about in the schools that he went to etc.”
He said his dad is now “someone who is very on top of, ‘how am I feeling? What do you want to talk about?'”.
Elsewhere, Roman once opened up about a career choice he has made alongside his dad for the sake of his future children.
Why Roman Kemp works with dad Martin
In December 2023, Roman told HELLO! magazine that he works with his dad Martin because he knows how much he’ll love his kids watching the footage.
He explained: “My dad and I get to work with each other all the time and I’m so lucky for that. The reason we work together is because I know how much I’m going to love my kids and my family watching that footage of me and their grandad working together – and that’s just our relationship.”
How sweet is that?!
JOIN ED!’s ANT AND DEC NEWS CHANNEL ON WHATSAPP – IN THESE 4 SIMPLE STEPS USING THE INVITE LINK HERE
The Finish Line airs from 4.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Do you like watching Roman Kemp and dad Martin work with each other? Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and tell us.