MIQUITA:
INTERVIEW
The TV presenter tells Closer about her A-list friendships, and why it took a pandemic for her to finally start taking her mum’s advice
Having started out as a presenter on Popworld in 2001 when she was just 16, Miquita Oliver’s broadcasting career spans decades.
She’s gone from TV presenter to podcaster and even pops up on our screens with her famous mum, Andi, to chat about the telly on Celebrity Gogglebox. But despite having achieved so much, Miquita tells us that turning 40 this week has put her into a wistful state of mind.
REFLECTIVE
“Turning 40 means a lot. Actually, it means everything! It’s making me feel very reflective and like I need to put my big girl pants on and do this properly,” she tells us. “I’ve been scared about getting older since I was 17, but I have to remind myself that there is a real opportunity in the beginning of a new decade.”
Luckily, Miquita has had her BFF, singer and actress Lily Allen, in her corner since the start of her career. Both were brought up in west London and are the offspring of famous parents – Lily’s Dad is actor Keith Allen and her mum is film producer Alison Owen, while Miquita’s mum is celebrity chef and former punk/pop singer Andi Oliver, 61.
Although the pair now live miles (and seemingly worlds) apart from each other, they’re closer than ever. Lily, 38, lives with her husband, actor David Harbour, and her two children, Ethel, 12, and Marnie, 11 – from her previous marriage to Sam Cooper – in a townhouse in New York. Miquita, who’s never married, lives in Hackney, east London.
WHIRLWIND
“I don’t even feel like Lily lives away because we FaceTime so often,” Miquita explains. “We’ve spent all of our lives together. Our lives, from the outside, look very different, but our root is strong and always has been. Lily just knows me, and I her. She’s more than just a friend, she’s family.”
Last month, Miquita and Lily began tapping into their transatlantic relationship with a joint podcast called Miss Me?, which is billed as a catch-up between the two best friends.
Miquita reveals, “To get to this moment at nearly 40 – I’m this year, Lily’s next year – you suddenly realise that we’ve done life’s first half together. And that’s kind of deep and there’s no one else I want to do something like this with.
“It’s so exciting and such a whirlwind. We’ve known each other since birth because our mums are best friends, but we’ve never worked together on anything. There’s something beautiful about having these big, independent careers that
