FEATURE:
An Inspirational Talent
PHOTO CREDIT: Arron Dunworth
Spotlighting the Amazing Vick Hope
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THIS is not timed to an announcement or anniversary…
but I was thinking, when BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac announced that she was leaving the station after seventeen years, how she is a hugely inspiring female broadcaster who has encouraged so many other women to get into radio/the media/music. She has won acclaim and respect from all corners of the literal and musical globe. She is being replaced on her Future Sounds show by the brilliant Clara Amfo. It seems like, compared to a couple of years ago, there has been a really positive change in redressing gender imbalance on the radio. Things are not as level as they should be, though I think there has been some steps forward. One person who I hope we hear more from in terms of radio hours is Vick Hope. This might not be the most eloquent feature she has ever read about herself, but I am compelled to discuss hope more. As (co)host of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks, Hope is a part of a massive station. I listen to and really love her Songs to Live By podcast. The tag is “Songs To Live By celebrates Black culture through the music we love. Host Vick Hope is joined by two guests from different generations to share songs that have shaped them”. I would encourage people to check it out, as Hope is a brilliant host. The range of guests and the songs they discuss makes for compelling listening. I will bring in an interview from last year that really caught my eye. Before moving on, a bit of background regarding the amazing Vick Hope:
“Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British multi-lingual TV and radio presenter, journalist and published author. She hosted the Capital Breakfast show on Capital FM radio station. She also presents Crufts on Channel 4, Carnage on Sky One, Trending Live on 4Music, Life Hacks on BBC Radio 1, FYI Daily on ITV2 and became the backstage presenter for ITV's The X Factor in 2019, after becoming the digital reporter for The Voice UK in 2018. In 2020, she became the red carpet host of 2020 BAFTA Film Awards. In October 2020, it was announced that Hope would host a new ITV Hub sister show entitled I'm a Celebrity...The Daily Drop.
As well as presenting, Hope works as a print and broadcast journalist for ITN and publications including The Argentina Independent and Marie Claire. In 2017 Hope won the Broadcasting Powerhouse Award at the Marie Claire Future Shapers Awards. She is a human rights activist and Amnesty International ambassador, having worked with the organisation since she was 16.
Hope is best known for her work presenting the Capital Breakfast show in London along with Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay since 2017. Before this she hosted weekend breakfast on sister station, Capital Xtra. On 24 February 2020, she announced that she would be leaving the show to focus on other ventures. On 20 March 2020, Sian Welby replaced Hope as co-host of Capital Breakfast.
In 2019, Hope joined Classic FM presenting Classic FM's Revision Hour alongside Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi & Dan Smith.
In August 2020, Hope replaced Cel Spellman to co-host Life Hacks and “Official Chart: First Look” alongside Katie Thistleton on BBC Radio 1”.
Rather than this being an excuse to praise Hope and her work – not that there is anything wrong in that! -, I have been thinking about radio icons and how there is a wave of young broadcasters who I can see really shaping the future of radio. I wonder if there are any plans for Hope to present her own show. She loves music, and she is so knowledgeable and respected. Hugely intelligent and educated, Hope is a definite inspiration to a lot of people. I caught her recently speaking with Jane Garvey and Fi Glover on their Fortunately… podcast. Hope comes across as this incredibly affable and likable.
Although she is still very young, I do think that stations should be knocking her door down. The nominees for the ARIAS were announced last week. There is some serious talent up or awards. I can see Hope being among the nominees before too long. From her incredible knowledge of elephants, to her acclaimed and broad career so far, I think that Vick Hope can offer a lot in her own show. I am not sure what form that would take. I could see a mix of music and conversation – maybe with a political or sociological perspective. Before getting to an interview from The Times, this year saw Hope release a children’s book alongside her former radio colleague, Roman Kemp. You can buy Shout Out: Use Your Voice, Save the Day here. Last month, Hope spoke with HELLO! about the new book:
“Starting off 2021 with a bang, Vick released children's book Shout Out: Use Your Voice, Save the Day!, a children’s book she co-wrote with former colleague Roman Kemp – a sequel to their 2019 debut Listen Up.
"The world has changed so much this year. Currently kids are indoors, unable to see their friends or go to school – they need that escape. I feel that a children’s book is really needed now."
She added: "I find children amazing and so interesting, intelligent and insightful – their curiosity is something I can relate to. And I feel they deserve stories that can cultivate them, and if that happens at a young age, then the sky’s the limit."
Vick explains how she and Roman (son of Martin Kemp) became good friends while presenting the radio show together. "When you see someone every single day, at 5.30am in the morning, you have to break down all barriers, you become very close. It’s a brother-sister friendship.
"We came up with the ideas of characters from a world that we knew, our own childhoods, which were very different. And then, what do we know together now? It’s radio."
Vick claims her affinity with children is down to the fact she’s never really grown up. "Even at weddings, I’m quite often put on the children’s table, even though I’m very much a full adult," she laughs.
"I find children amazing and so interesting, intelligent and insightful – their curiosity is something I can relate to. And I feel they deserve stories that can cultivate them, and if that happens at a young age, then the sky’s the limit”.
There truly is no end to Vick Hope’s talents! You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Lockdown has not been a good situation for many people in terms of their careers and doing all they planned to in 2020/2021. I guess Vick Hope is in the same boat. I am not sure if she had projects and radio work shelved. I suspect that she is looking ahead to a post-pandemic world and making us for lost time! Alongside hugely inspiration women in radio like Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Lauren Laverne, Zoe Ball, Dotty, Jamz Supernova and Vanessa Feltz (and many others), I think that Vick Hope is going to make a huge impact on the next generation. I do hope that radio bosses – whether at BBC Radio 1 or another station – give her the opportunity to helm a big show in a great timeslot.
I want to end up with an interview from The Times from last year. We got a glimpse into the life and brilliance of Vick Hope:
“The first thing I do when I wake up is dance around my flat to Lizzo, Robyn or Ariana Grande. Sometimes singing into the hairbrush. Doing that gives me joy.”
If you need a lesson in positivity, self-care or whatever else millennials do to survive a pandemic, try spending an hour with the infectiously upbeat Vick Hope. The broadcaster, presenter, writer and beauty ambassador is an increasingly influential role model for Britain’s adolescents in 2020. It’s a far cry from the 1990s, when I was growing up, and Sara Cox and Zoe Ball ruled the airwaves, famous for their cheeky radio chat and weekend benders. Hope is leading a new wave of female broadcasters — Clara Amfo, Maya Jama, AJ Odudu and Laura Whitmore — who are, yes, cool and glamorous, but also woke and multifaceted; women whose Instagram accounts are a stream of flawless selfies and cooking tutorials alongside yoga poses and Black Lives Matter placards.
I meet Hope, 30, for coffee in east London. Bright-eyed, smart and chatty, it’s clear why she has become an accidental agony aunt for Gen Z. Even when it comes to fashion and beauty, she uses her platform (she has 138,000 followers on social media) for good. Hope works with the beauty brand Shea Moisture UK as an advocate for curly hair — she stopped straightening her own naturally wavy afro hair in 2017, having treated it her entire adult life. “With afro hair it’s always about ‘taming curls’ or ‘controlling frizz’,” she says. “That language could do with changing. You’d be surprised how much that goes in and stays with you. I always thought I was ugly because of my hair or nose, when actually they are African features and they’re beautiful.”
Next month the Cambridge-educated presenter starts as a Radio 1 DJ, presenting the station’s much-loved Life Hacks show, where she’ll be giving advice to its young audience. Previously known as The Surgery, it’s been running since 1999 and Hope says it’s her dream job. “I grew up listening to that show and found solace in it. They talked about sex, relationships, mental health, all the stuff you’re trying to work out when you’re young and may be too embarrassed to talk about with your friends or parents.”
Hope left her gig at Capital Radio’s breakfast show in February after three years. She cohosted with her best friend Roman Kemp, and the two have written two children’s books, with the second coming out in January next year. She’s close to her fellow female presenters too: “Clara [Amfo] lives down the road from me. As soon as I left Capital she was like, ‘Babe, we’re going for breakfast”.
Hope, who is “almost fluent” in French and Spanish, took night lessons when she was still at school — “My secondary school didn’t offer Spanish and I campaigned all the way through for it. Eventually they did offer it but only after I’d left” — before studying modern languages at Cambridge university. “At first I felt like I didn’t belong. It’s not hugely diverse, not just being black but being from the north you are few and far between. Sometimes it did feel tokenistic. I was put on the front of the prospectus within two months of being there with a profile that felt a bit like: ‘If I can do it, anyone can.’ ” She laughs it off. “I’m happy to have been part of that access literature, it’s important that they’re working on it and I feel lucky to have gone there.”
Hope has been using lockdown to record voiceover work from her flat and prepare and deliver meals to refugee families. She is also an ambassador for Amnesty International UK and continues to be vocal about antiracism; she spoke about the issue on ITV’s Lorraine and has posted in support of Black Lives Matter on Instagram. By the time our chat draws to an end, I frankly feel lazy just listening to all her achievements — but I’m cheered by the fact she’s still a bit of a party girl. “Twenty-five of my mates came to Ibiza with me to celebrate my 30th birthday,” she grins. “At Capital quite often I was coming in [to do the show straight] from a night out”.
I think that, when lockdown measures are eased further and things start to get back to normal, we will see more of Vick Hope on the radio. Rather than this being me trying to direct her career, I get more and more bowled over the more I learn about her! Aside from everything she has achieved and does, she is one of the most compelling voices on radio. I shall wrap things up there. I love all of Vick Hope’s work. From listening to and reading interviews, she has this inspiring and wonderful quality that makes her someone to watch closely. I do hope that we hear a lot more from her on the airwaves. In Vick Hope, we have a multi-talented treasure with…
AN extremely bright future.