Katie Piper spills on huge secret she kept from husband: ‘It was so hard!’

2022-08-07

When Katie Piper found out she was going to be awarded an OBE for her services to charity and victims of burns and other disfigurement injuries, the 38 year old was bursting with excitement and couldn't wait to tell her friends and family.

However palace protcol states that the achievement needs to be kept confidential, and Katie was left so scared she might break it that she tells us she didn't even tell her husband Richard Sutton the news!

"It was such a hard secret to keep, but I didn’t want to have it taken away from me," she says. "I didn’t tell anyone. I just thought what if I tell someone and they forget they can’t say anything and tell another person and then another person."

As well as her charity work with The Katie Piper Foundation, the star has an incredibly varied career, achieving everything from filming hard-hitting documentaries to taking part in Strictly Come Dancing and joining the Loose Women panel last year.

And now the star is set to give our Sunday mornings a shake up as she is bringing The Katie Piper Breakfast Show to ITV. Packed with celebrity guests, fun segments and positive affirmations, Katie says landing the magazine show has been a bit of a “dream” and something she’s been wanting to do for a long time.

“I’m looking forward to waking everyone up on a Sunday morning,” says the presenter. "It’s going to be really light-hearted and easy, which is what you need on a Sunday morning if you’re hungover or you’ve been up all night with the kids!”

Here Katie, who shares daughters Belle, eight, and Penelope, four, with her husband Richard Sutton, opens up about the support she’s received from her fellow Loose ladies, living in the present with her kids and keeping her hardest secret…

You’ve just started filming Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show. Can you tell us more about it?

I’m really excited to be waking everyone up on a Sunday morning and getting them through the summer holidays. It’s going to be quite light-hearted and we’re going to have two guests every week, a celebrity and an expert or a podcaster.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Vogue Williams will be on the show, and I’m going to get some of my Loose mates involved like Nadia Sawalha. It will be nice to have a familiar face on.

Did you receive lots of congratulations from your Loose Women mates?

Yeah, I was on Loose Women the day after it got announced and they made a big fuss about it and were really sweet.

They’re all really pleased for me. That’s what’s so great about Loose – we’re all from so many different backgrounds and have our own careers, but we all really celebrate each other. It’s a nice family in that way.

Did you ask any of them for advice on the show?

I think you can learn so much from observing. Some of the Loose ladies have had careers longer than I’ve been alive so there’s a wealth of experience on the panel and I’m always learning so much from them just by watching.

Are you nervous about the show?

I don’t really get nervous, but I do get butterflies. I think it’s important to have that feeling. It’s amazing to have my own brand and it’s definitely a bit of a dream. It’s great to be doing something totally different to stuff I’ve done before and to show a different side of me.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

I don’t know if this is the best advice, but I like to down a Diet Coke. It makes a lot of people gassy but not me! It gives me a caffeine boost.

It’s nearly a year since you joined Loose Women. Is there anything you wouldn’t talk about on the show?

No. We have topical questions and we’re not pushed in any direction. They really encourage you to have your own opinions and you don’t go in with a script. It’s nice to be on a show like that.

Has there been a time when your husband has said, “I wish you hadn’t said that”?

No. He’s at work when it’s on so he’s not watching daytime TV. He’s not going to see it so I can say what I want!

Have you spoken to your co-star Stacey Solomon since she got married?

No, but I didn’t know much about it because when I started on Loose she went on maternity leave so I didn’t get to work with her. But I do follow her on Instagram so I’ve seen a bit, but I was as clueless as everyone else!

You received an OBE earlier this year. How did you react when you were told the news?

You find out quite ahead of time and I was in disbelief. I had to let it in sink in for a while. I really wanted to ring everyone, but you can’t because you have to follow the palace protocol and keep it confidential. It was such a hard secret to keep, but I didn’t want to have it taken away from me.

Did you tell your husband?

I didn’t tell anyone. I just thought what if I tell someone and they forget they can’t say anything and tell another person and then another person.

The whole day was surreal and such a privilege. But it wasn’t an award just for me, it was for the charity, the people who work there and the members of the public who support us.

We lost a quarter of our income due to Covid, so fundraising is more important than ever. We’re doing a run in Hyde Park in September, too, so I hope lots of people will get involved.

What would you say is the secret of your marriage to Richard?

I don’t know if I have the answer to that [laughs]! I think relationships in films and books are heavily romanticised and made to look like fairy tales, but marriage and friendship take constant work. Who can say they’ve got it nigh-on perfect or they’re an expert? I think it’s all ongoing and takes work.

You have two daughters. Do you worry about social media and that the girls might get trolled in the future?

No. I try to live in the present moment, so I don’t fret about the future. I don’t think it’s worth worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet.

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Do you encourage them to be open about their mental health?

Yes, but I try and let it come naturally. I don’t try and force it out of them. I’m releasing a children’s book next year called All You Need and it’s about encouraging children to look within and what they need to be a well-rounded person.

Without knowing the girls have been my consultants on the book and I’ve been asking them what makes
them feel good. It’s been a collaborative process and it will be something we can pick up and read together at night.

Katie Piper’s Breakfast Show, Sundays, 8:30am, ITV. Katie's new book ‘A Little Bit Of Hope’ is out now from all good book stores.

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