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Lily Allen has admitted that she still feels self-conscious about her lack of traditional academic education, having left school when she was 15.
The British pop singer, author and actor opened up in the latest episode of her podcast, Miss Me?,which she hosts with her longtime friend, radio host and TV personality Miquita Oliver.
Discussing the theme of intelligence, Allen, 39, said she goes into a “self-hatred spiral” when she hears other people talk about going to university.
“I’m not educated,” she said. “I left school when I was 15 and I don’t even have one GCSE, not one qualification, and I am ashamed of it.”
Oliver questioned whether further education would make any difference to either of them: “If me and you were sitting here with two GCSEs each, I mean really what difference would it make? Let’s be honest.”
However, Allen said she might not have returned to pop music after having children if she had other qualifications: “I would have thought, I’m actually gonna go and be a lawyer [for instance].”
Allen said this was particularly apparent after she suffered the stillbirth of her son, George, in 2010.
“I really wanted to go into midwifery or obstetrics because that was something that really interested me,” she said, “but because I didn’t have any diplomas in GCSEs or A Levels it seemed too difficult, too much. I was too lazy.
“And actually too embarrassed,” she continued. “I thought I’d have to go and do my A Levels with a bunch of 18 year olds and I was already in my mid-thirties. I didn’t wanna do that.”
Oliver, 40, said she’d been contemplating further education and had always wanted to be “smarter”.
“I’ve been thinking about the reality of doing further education now and how that would feel,” she said. “There are a few things I’ve been looking into. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
In next week’s podcast, Allen’s husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour, will join Oliver while Allen is away on holiday.
“The subject matter is... Lily Allen,” the singer announced of the forthcoming theme.
“Do you feel like he’s safe in my hands?” Oliver asked, to which Allen responded: “After what happened with Toby, I don’t know babes.”
“Oh for f***’s sake...” Oliver said, laughing.
The pair were referring to an incident revealed in an earlier podcast episode, where Oliver admitted to kissing Allen’s then-boyfriend, Toby, at their friends’ house while the singer was upstairs.
“Look after my man, but not like that,” Allen said. “I’m gonna ask the audience, ‘watch her.’”
Miss Me? continues on Mondays and Thursdays on BBC Sounds.
