'The Nerves Have Never Left Me'

Christine Lampard on covering for Lorraine Kelly, stealing shoes and why she won’t be hosting the Dancing on Ice comeback

 

- Emma Bullimore

Lorraine Kelly makes breakfast telly look effortless, but even she needs a holiday sometimes. Lucky, then, that bright and breezy presenter Christine Lampard is on hand to look after her show and plump the cushions for three weeks during the summer.

Former Daybreak presenter Christine, 38, is delighted to be back at the helm, having previously covered for Lorraine earlier in the year. She calls TV Times after a particularly long morning appearing on both Lorraine and Loose Women, and tells us she’s living the dream popping up on ITV’s daytime favourites…

Christine, are you enjoying keeping Lorraine’s seat warm?

I love it! Lorraine is one of those shows I grew up watching, so to end up standing on the set yourself and presenting it is a massive deal for me. There isn’t one moment where I’m not pinching myself. It’s a really lovely experience and the team is fantastic, so it all feels very natural. The nerves have never left me, though. I’m fine until about 10 minutes beforehand and then the butterflies kick in. I suppose everybody gets that when you know you’re on live telly and could potentially mess up at any moment!

Does Lorraine give you any instructions beforehand?

I bumped into Lorraine just before she went on her well-deserved break. She gave me a hug and told me to have a great time and enjoy myself. I told her that I’ll do my best to not completely mess it up for three weeks, so that she’s still got a show to come back to! Obviously Lorraine’s lovely, she’s so synonymous with early morning telly now, so you do feel you’ve got huge shoes to fill, even though it’s a temporary thing. I hope she’s pleased and knows I’m holding the fort for her.