'I'm not ready for romance – I need to sort myself out’

DJ and mental health campaigner Roman Kemp opens up about his own struggles, royal gaffes – and dad Martin walking around naked!

- NICOLA FAHEY

Roman Kemp would love to replicate his parents Martin and Shirlie’s true romance after a string of failed relationships. But even though he is tentatively on dating apps, he admits he’s not yet ready for a relationship.

“Don’t get me wrong, I come from a family of romance,” he says. “My grandparents were together from when they were 16 and they died on the same day, then you’ve got my mum and dad who have been together for so long. In an ideal world I’d meet someone in the middle of the street but that’s not reality. But I need to sort myself out first. I’m not ready to think about someone else until I can sort my own head out.”

When we catch up with Roman, 29, he is soaked after motorcycling home in a downpour from Fearne Cotton’s house, where he’d been recording for her wellbeing podcast. Wellness is important to the Capital FM DJ. He has achieved huge success waking up millions of listeners on the breakfast show since 2017, but he hasn’t had it easy.

He’s about to release his part autobiographical, part self-help book, Are You Really OK?. In it he unflinchingly tackles the subject of suicide after contemplating taking his own life in the summer of 2019.

At the time, he’d just landed his gig on I’m A Celebrity where he would later endear himself to the nation. But Roman suffered a breakdown when he stopped taking medication for the depression he’s battled since he was 15. Consumed with feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred, he was planning his next steps when his mum’s face popped up on his phone and made the call that saved him.