Martin Kemp: I did not open 'one single door' for my son Roman in his career

Wed, 24 Mar, 2021 - 10:00

Martin Kemp has said he did not "open one single door" for his son Roman when he was starting out in his career.

The actor and musician said he did not want it to look like he was "pushing" Roman, who is now a radio DJ and television presenter.

The pair now work together on ITV's Martin & Roman's Weekend Best and will appear on the DNA Journey ancestry programme together on Wednesday evening.

Martin said:

I think when Roman first started out, I was very aware not to make it look like I was pushing Roman in any shape or form. I never did it at all, I never opened one single door. I never opened one single door for him but now obviously Roman entertains the nation for four hours live on the radio every morning. He has a right to stand up on his own. He's great at what he does, so it is a pleasure to work with him.

Capital Breakfast DJ Roman said in the past he has been asked why he works with his father.

"It was always a worry of mine if I started just appearing in things with my dad," he said. "Is that going to define my career?"

He added:

I think that the reality of it is when we get asked to do things like DNA [Journey] or like Weekend Best, I can't wait to be able to show my grandkids and all of those types of things and say, 'Look what we did and this is what your grandad was like and this is what our relationship was like'.

DNA Journey sees the father and son duo explore their family history, including a rumour about the family of Martin's wife Shirley.

Martin said there has been a "myth" that her great-grandmother was brought up in an Egyptian palace.

"We have laughed at it over the years, we never thought it was true," he said. "It has always been an urban myth and when this show come up, it was like the perfect chance to find out whether that was true or what the real story is about and the real story turns out to be even more interesting than the one that we heard," he said.