Martin Kemp has opened up about the relationship he has with his son, Roman, as they celebrate the first anniversary of their hit podcast.
The 63-year-old Spandau Ballet icon is the proud father of son Roman, 32, and 35-year-old daughter Harley who he shares with 62-year-old wife Shirlie, who he has been married to since 1988. Martin and former Global Radio host Roman host a podcast called FFS! My Dad Is Martin Kemp.
The audio show is celebrating its first anniversary – and legions of fans have tuned in week after week to listen to the father and son duo discuss a variety of topics. Reflecting on the success of their first year on the podcast air, Martin and Roman have confessed they are surprised by their own success.
While the boys have claimed the key to their success has been down to the fact that they simply talk to each other like they are friends, and they forget that people are even listening. However, Martin has confessed that he may not be as close with each other if it were not for their project.
Opening up to OK! Magazine, Martin said: “I think we’re much like any other family. As a boy, Roman was really easy to entertain, he liked football and his Batman toys so it was easy. Obviously our relationship is slightly different now because we spend a lot of time working together, which I really enjoy. I know I get on his nerves but I enjoy it because Ro is ultra professional. And I know that if I didn’t work with him, I wouldn’t see him half as much.”
Roman added: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt like we weren’t friends, which is probably a bit strange to some people. Football has been a big part of it. I’ll call my dad and speak about Arsenal in the same way I’ll call my friends and talk about Arsenal. Even as a kid it wasn’t, “Oh, my dad’s taking me out for the day”, it was just like going out with a friend.”
The father and son also reflected on the success of their podcast – sharing that they have been stunned by the response from fans. Martin said: “All the messages I get are people saying, “Oh I wish I had that relationship in our family”, and I think with us it’s just that I’ve tried to bring them up with no embarrassment about anything.
“I talk to Ro as if I’ve gone down the pub with my mates, and people enjoy that. I don’t try to make things polite, I don’t try to hide things – life is life. He knows what I’ve been through, like my life in a band for 10 years, so there’s no point hiding anything. We just talk, like two blokes down the pub.”
And Roman added: “I still can’t understand the reaction really, because it’s just me and my dad having a chat. People will come up to me and say, “I heard you say such and such”, and I think, ‘I forgot people were listening!’”
Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.