Women who lead
Presenter and writer Kate Humble talks to Bella Evennett-Watts about her accidental career in TV, her enduring passion for wildlife and her new fascination with the meaning of home
Thanks to a career in television spanning 30 years, Kate Humble has become a much-loved and familiar face to most of us in the UK. Through her many programmes and successful books, her love of all things wildlife is no secret.
But Kate, 55, confesses she never actually envisaged a career in presenting – nor did she ever have her sights set on being in the spotlight. That all happened by accident after she got a job as a researcher on BBC One’s Holiday programme in her early 20s. Just two days into the job, she was called into the programme editor’s office.
‘There was I, this little scruff,’ she recollects. ‘I was pretty sure I was about to be sacked – I’d obviously done something wrong on my first day. Then the programme editor gave me this look and said, “Have you ever presented before?” I thought, “She must think everybody wants to be a presenter, so she’s testing if that’s why I’m here.”’
Kate desperately tried telling the editor how much she loved her job, but was asked to film a screen test. Eager to get out of the
office, she obliged. She laughs as she remembers that test, which involved interviewing people sitting outside a pub. ‘They’d had a few too many beers; it was basically a shambles. It was also very windy – and my hair was longer back then! I looked like something from The Muppets.’
She was hugely surprised to be told at a follow-up meeting: ‘We want you to present a film on a barge in Normandy… but can you please do something about your hair?’ Kate chuckles. ‘I didn’t not enjoy it. But did I think, “This is my new career”? Absolutely not.’
Yet more presenting jobs followed, until Kate eventually landed her own segment on Holiday, which involved looking for trips on a budget.
It was aptly named Humble Holidays.
Since then, Kate’s CV has included hosting everything from the BBC’s Animal Park to Rough Science and Springwatch. More recently, her Channel 5 show Escape To The Farm With Kate Humble followed her pursuit of a self-sufficient life in Wales.
Having found her niche in factual TV, Kate is quick to count her blessings. ‘I’ve never been a really high-profile, highly paid entertainment presenter, but that was never what I wanted to be,’ she says. ‘I always wanted to stick to my roots – I’ve always been interested in people, animals and science. I just feel astonishingly lucky that I ended up being able to make a living from it.’
BIG DREAMS
Kate grew up next to a farm in Berkshire; her father worked at IBM, while her mother looked after Kate and her brother. She describes a stable, idyllic childhood, mu
