The One Show presenter Roman Kemp has opened up about his childhood and the devastating pitfalls of fame after seeing his pop star mum, Shirlie Kemp, sobbing for days
Kathryn Ingate Deputy Editor of Trendswatch
10:19, 06 Nov 2025
Roman Kemp and mum Shirlie
The One Show host Roman Kemp was raised in the public eye and it wasn’t long before he witnessed the heartbreaking downsides of celebrity after watching his pop star mother, Shirlie Kemp, weeping for days on end.
Just months ahead of taking part in Celebrity Race Across the World 2025 alongside his elder sister Harleymoon Kemp, 36, which will see the brother-sister pair battling against other celebrities as they travel 5,900km across Central America on merely £30 per day each, Roman, 32, revealed the hardship he recalls most clearly from his youth.
During a chat with musician Tom Grennan on their You About? podcast, Roman recalled memories of himself and Harleymoon appearing in national publications with their celebrity parents during a time when money was scarce for the household.
Shirlie and her husband Martin Kemp, who performed with Spandau Ballet before playing Steve Owen in BBC drama EastEnders, were facing financial difficulties due to the performer’s medical issues in the 1990s.
Roman and Harleymoon Kemp are swapping the life of luxury for backpacks(Image: BBC/Studio Lambert)
Martin received a diagnosis of two brain tumours and required operations to have them surgically removed.
“My parents had no money at the time because my dad had all these operations and s*** for his brain, so, like, they were trying to get more money,” Roman told podcast co-presenter Tom.
He continued by acknowledging that despite their family magazine appearances, Martin and Shirlie remained worried about their youngsters being photographed by paparazzi whilst on holiday.
Roman went on: “But then, even up to when I was maybe 13, if we’d gone on holiday, we were never allowed to go to the beach because when we went on the beach, my mum and dad would always be like, ‘there it is’ and you’d see a boat come past, quite far out, and then, like, stop, and there would just be a long lens camera just taking pictures of kids on beaches.”
Martin Kemp and Shirlie Kemp struggled while raising their children in the spotlight(Image: Getty Images)
Roman poignantly disclosed how his mother would frequently be reduced to tears upon witnessing photographs the paparazzi had captured of them appearing in publications.
He explained: “It’s mad in that sense, you see it less and less now, like those old celebrity pictures on the beach, you see that a lot less now.
“But at the time, my whole life, me growing up, was my mum crying because they’re taking horrendous pictures and they’d only use the worst picture.”
Looking back on one particularly distressing incident after a family getaway, Roman recalled how Shirlie “cried for, like, five days” when images of the family on a banana boat were printed in the media.
Martin Kemp, Shirlie Kemp and Roman Kemp(Image: (Image: Antony Jones/Getty Images for Tu at Sainsbury’s))
Prior to Celebrity Race Across the World broadcasting on Thursday evening, Harleymoon disclosed she had previously been offered the opportunity to appear on the BBC programme alongside her mother, but Shirlie harboured reservations, causing the duo to decline.
Harleymoon revealed to the Radio Times: “My mum was asked to be in the first Celebrity Race Across the World and was going to take me, but thought it sounded too hard. I was glad to have another chance to go.”
Roman, who has been candid about his battles with anxiety and depression, shared his reasons for joining the series: “I came off all medication [antidepressants] over a year ago and the race was a good test for my anxiety.
“It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done on television, but doing the race itself was hell! I used to watch it and wonder why a contestant was crying – well, that was me.”
Celebrity Race Across the World begins tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
