I Love My World In Music

With the BBC Proms starting this week, we chat to broadcaster Katie Derham, a musician herself, who’s known for her classical-music presenting... and her dancing.

Katie Derham has become the go-to gal for classical music – she’s about to start her eighth year as host of the BBC’s Proms season on TV and Radio 3. Music is just as important to Katie, 47, away from the limelight, too. She is a skilled violinist and pianist who has passed on her love of music to daughters Natasha, 17, and Eleanor, 11.

Being so closely associated with highbrow music, it’s tempting to imagine that the sounds of Bach and Beethoven are always wafting through Katie’s rural Sussex home. When we ask if her daughters sometimes beg her to turn it off so they can play some Beyoncé or Bruno Mars, Katie’s answer is surprising.

‘Well, it’s just as likely to be me saying, ‘Can we listen to Bruno Mars?’’ she says with a laugh. ‘I like pop music, too. I have very eclectic tastes – I even know a lot about heavy metal, because my elder brother was into it at one point.

‘If the kids are telling me to turn anything off, it would probably be James Taylor, only because they’ve heard it so much,’ continues Katie ruefully. ‘They’re saying, ‘Yes, yes, we know You’ve Got A Friend. Not again!’’

Laughing heartily, as she does throughout our chat, Katie couples a light-hearted attitude with an endearingly self-deprecating sense of humour, which belie her very impressive credentials. While she channels a girl-next-door vibe, her achievements speak volumes about her focus and drive. Katie studied economics at Cambridge before becoming an award-winning financial journalist and news anchor – aged 27, she was the UK’s youngest national news reader. Then, eight years ago, she switched from news to front the BBC’s classical-music coverage – including The Proms – displaying her considerable knowledge of the arts in the process.