Roman Kemp's sister and her career as parents Martin and Shirlie voice concerns
Martin Kemp and Shirlie Holliman have been opening up about their children following youngest son Roman Kemp quitting his high profile job last week.
Former EastEnders actor Martin and singer Shirlie share two children together; daughter Harley Kemp and soon-to-be former Capital FM Breakfast presenter Roman. The happy couple aren't too bothered about the fact neither of their kids seem to have settled down just yet, but do have some concerns regarding if and when they do decide to marry.
"I'm not bothered that they're not married or have children. I think the world is a scary place. But if my kids get married, I want to be there," Shirlie admitted in a recent interview, after revealing she often gives her offspring advice when it comes to dating and shares her pearls of wisdom with both Harley and Roman.
She went on to add: "What do I tell them? Well, you always have to feel comfortable with someone and not let anyone make you feel insecure. But it's different between a girl and a boy. With Harley, I'll say 'make sure he's chasing you, don't you chase.' And with Roman, I'll say, 'Treat her nice.'"
Harley Kemp hasn't always found having famous parents as easy as her little brother does (WireImage)
The Kemp family in October 1998, with Harley and Roman just young children (Rex Features)Even though Shirlie hopes to see her kids get married one day, Martin made a joke saying they might not be there to see it happen. Laughing, he told HELLO! magazine: "I can tell you, you won't be. Roman will do exactly the same thing [as us]." Since eloping and tying the knot back in 1988, Martin and Shirlie have enjoyed over three decades of wedded bliss together. Along the way, they've been blessed with two children - Roman Kemp, now 31, and Harley Kemp, who's 34.
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Harley has followed in her mum and dad's footsteps and works in the music industry, but admitted last year it can be tricky being a singer with such famous parents. Speaking in an interview in July, Harley confessed growing up in the world of showbiz actually made her quite shy, as she always thought people would brand her as "just so-and-so's kid".
"They think you’ve got an advantage, or they think that you’ve been handed it, and that’s always put me off. I didn’t want to be judged," she told the Metro ahead of performing at Brighton Pride. "And especially for music, it was so personal, it’s my diary. It’s what I like, it’s what I love. So I was always really afraid to put myself in that position. Whereas Roman really thrived off it, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do and stepped into it."
Writing in his book Are You Really Ok? Roman opened up how Shirlie and Martin raised both him and Harley in a bohemian style. "Mum and Dad's parenting style was definitely what you'd call 'bohemian'. They always made a point of treating my sister Harley and I as their mates, rather than their children to boss around," the I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star revealed.
"People might assume our house would have been filled with famous people when I was growing up. But it wasn't like that at all. In reality, Mum and Dad are quite homely people, they're insanely loved-up, even after nearly 40 years together, and are very happy just being in their own company."
He went on to add: "Not hosting famous types. They didn't throw parties, they're just not extravagant people like that. Their strong marriage is something I admire so much. As a teenager it was one of my biggest fears, them splitting up. I never wanted dad to do Strictly Come Dancing in case the famous curse struck and it broke them up!"
Roman last week announced his decision to quit as host of Capital Breakfast after almost a decade with the broadcaster, with it later revealed former Radio 1 DJ Jordan North will be replacing him. Speaking live on the radio, The One Show presenter told Capital FM listeners: "What I can tell you is I’m not saying goodbye right now, I’m not leaving the show today and that’s it, but it’s not far away. It will come and that goodbye will come in five to six weeks.
"It’s not a decision that has come overnight either, it’s massive, I’ve not found it easy at all. Capital is my family, you as the wonderful listeners that you’ve been, you’ve been with me at my best times and my absolute lowest. […] Capital and Global have helped changed me. I was 22 years old when I first joined Capital and it’s built me into the man that I am today, it is all that I know. But I know that now is the right time to leave and now is the right time to move on."
He went on to add: "You listening, and the people in this room, every single person in this room, my producing team, Sian and Chris, Sonny who has done it in the past and Vick Hope who had done it in the past. It’s everyone. The next couple of weeks as I kind of approach the end of my time here on Capital, it’s going to be so tough.
"I love this place so much, I love it. I love the station, I love everything about it, Capital is my family. And I also love the connection that you and I, the listeners, have built together. It’s changed. I know that it started out as me being just Martin Kemp’s son, I hope that now you can call me your friend."
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