Roman Kemp (born 28 January 1993), is an American-born British podcast host, television personality and former radio host. From 2017 to 2024, he presented the national radio network Capital FM breakfast show. Kemp presents ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

. In 2019, he finished in third place in the nineteenth series of '' I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

Early life

Kemp was born on 28 January 1993 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He is the son of actor and musician Martin Kemp and singer Shirlie Holliman.

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

was his godfather.

Education

Kemp was educated at Berkhamsted School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

, in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...

, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, until he was 15. He was in the same year as KSI.

Career

2010s

In November 2014, Kemp joined Capital FM to present Sunday 6–9am. He was promoted to Saturday 5–8pm and Sunday 9pm12am a year later, where he had the chance to interview artists on his show. In February 2016, Kemp became the new face of ''The Capital Evening Show'', weeknights 7–10pm in addition to his Sunday show. In 2017, Kemp started hosting Capital Breakfast from 6 am–10 am with

Vick Hope Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British television and radio presenter, journalist and published author. Hope hosts the BBC Radio 1 drivetime show ''Going Home with Vick, Katie and Jamie'' with Katie Thistleton and ...

across London and Saturday 6 am–9 am across the Network. As a result, he left the evening show. In 2018, Sonny Jay joined Capital Breakfast full-time as a co-presenter. In 2016, Kemp was '' The X Factor UKs digital presenter and social media correspondent. He also co-hosted ''Nick Kicks'' on

Nicktoons Nicktoons is the brand name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Paramount Global) in their copyright bylines. Since ...

. Since January 2017, he has co-presented ''2Awesome'' on

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

with

. He also presented '' The Hot Desk'' on ITV2. From 2 May 2017, Kemp took over Capital FM London's breakfast show with Hope. He narrated '' Bromans'' on

in 2017, in which his father played Emperor. He appeared in an episode of '' Len Goodman's Partners in Rhyme''. He took part in a celebrity edition of '' First Dates'' for

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...

in November 2017. Roman Kemp 2019

In November 2017, Kemp was the backstage reporter on '' Children in Need Rocks the 80s''. On 1 March 2018, Kemp hosted the Global Awards alongside Rochelle Humes and

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is an English musician, singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

, and returned to present the 2019 Global Awards. On 8 April 2019, Kemp,

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

and Jay became the hosts of the new Capital National Breakfast. In May 2019, it was announced that he would play in the 2019 edition of Soccer Aid, representing the Rest of the World due to his birth in Los Angeles allowing him to be classed as American. Since June 2019, Kemp has appeared in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

reality series '' Celebrity Gogglebox'' alongside his father. In 2019, Kemp was a contestant on the nineteenth series of the ITV reality series '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' gaining notoriety for finding an errant cockroach under his foreskin. Kemp finished in third place. Kemp has also presented London's New Year celebration show twice in 2017 and 2019 alongside performers

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

, Chic and

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

respectively.

2020s

In 2020, Kemp co-hosted a Sunday morning programme with his father, titled '' Martin & Roman's Sunday Best!'' on ITV from 14 June 2020. On 19 November 2020, Kemp featured as a guest panellist on the ITV Daytime show '' Loose Women'' and was part of the first all male panel in the show's 21-year history. In March 2021, Kemp presented a documentary on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

, ''Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency'', exploring the

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

crisis affecting young men. His friend, producer Joe Lyons, took his own life in August 2020. From April 2021, Kemp and Martin Kemp presented ''Martin & Roman's Weekend Best!'', a spin-off of ''Martin & Roman's Sunday Best!'' He presented the 2023 BBC documentary ''Boot Dreams: Now or Never'', about young footballers trying to gain a professional contract. Since July 2023, Kemp has co-presented the quiz show '' The Finish Line'' on BBC1 with Sarah Greene. In November 2023, Kemp presented a documentary on

, ''Roman Kemp: The Fight for Young Lives'', exploring potential solutions for improving the mental health of young people in the UK. On 8 October 2023, it was reported that Kemp would be departing from Capital Breakfast as main host after seven years, due to his new career being a television presenter for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

. On 19 February 2024, he announced that he would present his final show on 28 March 2024. After leaving, he explained that it was to avoid reliving the day in 2020 when, in the middle of his radio show, he found out about producer Joe Lyons' death. On 2 March 2024, he hosted the annual BRIT Awards alongside Maya Jama and Clara Amfo.

Personal life

Roman is best friends with the British popstar Tom Grennan. They host a podcast on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

called You About?, and have appeared together on the Write Me Dirty podcast. In the documentary ''Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency'', Kemp revealed that he came close to attempting suicide after battling with depression for 13 years. In the documentary ''Roman Kemp: The Fight for Young Lives'', Kemp further revealed that he has dealt with depression since he was 15 and has taken

sertraline Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an Antidepressant, antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class used to treat major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, socia ...

for 12 years. Kemp is a supporter of

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

Filmography

Television

Radio

Web

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Roman Living people BBC television presenters English radio DJs English television presenters People educated at Berkhamsted School People with mood disorders 1993 births