Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Danni Scott

Roman Kemp 'not planning to buy his parents any Christmas presents this year'

Buying Christmas gifts for family members can be one of the hardest parts of the festive season with pressure to get them the perfect present to unwrap.

These problems don't get any easier when your dad is a chart legend turned soap star and your mum is a pop sensation - a problem DJ Roman Kemp knows only too well.

Roman laughed and told The Mirror: "To be honest, my dad is the hardest person to buy for!" The 29-year-old is the son of Spandau Ballet bassist, Martin Kemp, 61, and Shirlie Kemp, 60, of Pepsi & Shirlie fame.

Roman says his dad is hardest to buy for at Christmas (L to R) Martin Kemp, Harleymoon Kemp, Shirlie Kemp and Roman Kemp (LightRocket via Getty Images)

"Every year with us, we love being around each other," he shared. "We're such a tight knit family. But this year, we've all decided we're not going to do it with presents."

Roman explained why there will be no presents under the Kemp tree this year, conscious he was "sounding very virtue signalling" but believes "it's important". He said: "This year we're not doing any presents. We're all gonna pick pick a charity each or a cause each and you can donate to that and that's the present."

The former I'm A Celeb campmate acknowledged his privileged position to be able to do this, saying: "To be honest, we're very fortunate people, we're lucky that we have each other and we're able to do nice things. For us it's a moment where we're practising gratitude, so we're very grateful for that."

"We've all agreed that celebrities buying other celebrities presents is a bit sickening so we'd rather do something that means something," Roman added.

The DJ has created an audio guide with Uber Eats to encourage mindful eating (Uber Eats)

The Capital Breakfast host lives in a lush London flat while his parents have a stunning home in Hertfordshire just a short journey away. Roman joked that his dad doesn't want him home this year after his mum let slip a conversation she'd had with the EastEnders star.

The 29-year-old laughed: "I have a feeling my dad doesn't want me home for Christmas because my mom comes up to me the other day and goes 'Dad said you don't wanna be at home for Christmas'. I was like what?"

He laughed and added: "She said: 'So we might go on Holiday'. I was like, so basically what you're saying is that dad just lied to you to make him feel better about going on holiday."

Roman with his dad, Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp (Dave J Hogan/Getty Images for Sony Pictures)
The family is very close and usually spends Christmas together (Uber Eats)

This Christmas, Roman has teamed up with Uber Eats to create a mindfulness guide to get people thinking about how they're eating during the festive period. Mindful Mouthful is a ten minute audio guide, narrated by the star, to get listeners into a serene state before they tuck into their meal.

"It's not even necessarily about what it is that you're eating," explained Roman, "It's more about having a thought process before you do, before you have that meal with your family on Christmas Day. Take a moment to just enjoy and look around at your surroundings - you can always make that moment a memory."

For many years, Roman has been an advocate for mental health and practicing some form of mindfulness during the day. Despite his busy schedule the DJ says he works hard to include moments of thoughtfulness throughout the day which helps keep his mental health in check.

Christmas is a time for treats and sharing with family, which Roman feels very grateful to have (Uber Eats)

Christmas adds pressure to an already hectic life but Roman thinks we all need to work on just stopping and embracing the moment. He said: "I think we just blast through life, us as Brits, we blast through life so quickly that we don't think about the moments. So we don't stop to think 'hang on this is really nice. I want to remember this'."

Focusing on tastes, smells and sounds can bring you back to the moment and transform a meal into a memory, which is especially precious during the Christmas period.

Roman said: "I am very, very fortunate. I am extremely grateful for it. It's something that doesn't go unnoticed, every day." The radio star then jokingly added: "I do also have to wake up at 4:30am every morning though, which sucks."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.