Katherine Ryan: 'I’m a terrible actress, so my reality show is totally honest'

Here, she speaks to Radio Times magazine about her new series and what she has been tuning in to from her sofa.

What's the view from your sofa?

I wish I could give a more intellectual answer, but it’s the telly. And then we have this shelving/TV unit with family photos on.

We also have a really lovely firm sofa which is white – controversially, given we have toddlers and dogs and an unwelcome guest of a cat who has been scratching it. It’s bouclé, though, so it’s OK. Kinda.

Who controls the remote?

My children. I have seen very few non-CBeebies, non-Disney Plus things recently.

Are you raising couch potatoes?

I’m raising performers, and I didn’t even realise. They’ll put on some song from a movie or whatever, put on a show, and we’ll sit and clap. We’re indoctrinating them to perform for applause.

Were you like that as a child?

Yes! My parents had a VHS camera that we were allowed to use so we made skits and filmed them – we were all little performers [Ryan has two younger sisters]. It was fun. The difference was that we didn’t have YouTube, so we weren’t sharing anything with the world.

How real is your reality show, At Home with Katherine Ryan?

Pretty close, actually. I know from experience that I’m a terrible actress and because it’s factual entertainment, they aren’t really allowed to lie in that genre. It’s really representative of the family.

Did you have any reservations about featuring your youngest children Fred and Fenna in a fly-on-the-wall series?

Because they’re small, I wasn’t concerned. They’re not on camera too much, their normal routine isn’t disrupted and we don’t upset them unnecessarily.

What about Violet, your 15-year-old?

Violet was my only concern. I do believe that a young woman deserves privacy during that very formative time of life, but she’s so unaffected by it.

I worried at the start about her hamming it up or taking this "Violet" character too far, but I needn’t have. She’s just herself on camera, which is nice.

There’s over a decade between Violet and Fenna. Have you noticed any change in the way girls grow up now?

When you’re an LGBTQA+ ally and you believe in dismantling gender stereotypes, the disappointing thing about boys and girls, generally speaking, is that these children are still stereotypes of their gender. If you give Fenna a doll, she wants to cuddle it. My son, sensitive though he is, likes to fight and has Ninja Turtles. We are not breeding that into these children, and yet…

How hard has it been having two kids under four?

It was hard, and now it’s lovely. Fred was 18 months old when Fenna was born – her name is Dutch and yes, I know it sounds like a laxative but it’s too late to change it now. Fred is a very sensitive boy. I know that it’s so toxic to tell little boys not to cry, but now I have my son in front of me crying, I think, “Can you just not every ten minutes?” Fenna’s very brave and self-sufficient and has always been like that, and she does inspire him to be a bit braver.

In this series, you go to marriage counselling with your husband Bobby, camera in tow. That’s rather brave…

I can’t do things by halves and we are very comfortable being totally honest and transparent. What I’ve learnt in stand-up is that I’m at my best when people can relate. I think that’s what every comedian’s trying to do.

Weren’t you worried that something might come up?

I’ve known Bobby all of his life. We’re best friends as much as we are husband and wife. So I knew it would be fine. Why would you sign up for a reality show if you’ve got a bad marriage? I mean, I’d love to see it, but it’s not something I would do!

The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.

At Home With Katherine Ryan season 2 returns to U&W on Monday 10th February. Season 1 is available to watch now.

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