'IT'S A REAL PRIVILEGE TO DO MY JOB'

DJ JO WHILEY SHARES HER PASSION FOR BEING PART OF THE PRESENTING TEAM AT GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL

- JEN PHARO

When 17-year-old Jo Whiley set off for somewhere called Glastonbury after a raucous sixth form party, she had no W idea the festival would come to define her next four decades.

In the early 80s, Jo was studying for her A-levels and had plans to train as a speech therapist. What actually happened was rather different and much more glamorous, in a muddy sort of way.

"When I was 17 I didn't even know broadcasting was a thing you could do," laughs Jo. "I honestly thought I was going to be a speech therapist. The idea of me introducing The Killers on the main stage at Glastonbury would have blown my mind."

Jo's been married to music executive Steve Morton since 1991 and the pair have four children, India, 30, Jude, 24, Cassius, 22, and Coco, 14. Somewhere along the way, she managed to fit in one of the most glittering, enviable and effortless-looking careers in showbiz.

She's helmed shows on Radio 1 and Radio 2, presented Top Of The Pops  and is such a firm part of British pop culture that her voice even featured in the film Love Actually.

But hosting the Glastonbury TV coverage is what makes her heart soar.

"I'm just really fond of it," smiles Jo. "I've got so many lovely memories. I went in the sixth form. A bunch of my friends were at a party and they said, 'We're going to this thing, it's in Glastonbury, it's a festival apparently.' And I said, 'Oh, can I come?' There was only one stage and we saw two bands, had a really great time, then we left because it was raining. So it was exactly the way it's always been! Then I went with my husband when my daughter was 18 months old. I've spent a lot of time down there in the kids' fields!"

Last year, she didn't just introduce The Killers - they dedicated their song Pressure Machine to her. So Jo's kids must think she's the coolest mum alive. "No mum is ever cool to their kids," laughs Jo. "That's the law."