Steph McGovern: Biggest compliment is people wanting to have a pint with me

Steph McGovern says the biggest compliment she receives is when people say they would like to “go for a pint” with her.

The TV presenter and host of Steph’s Packed Lunch said she tries not to let her fame and success impact on her identity and that her “unique selling point is being normal”.

McGovern features as the cover star for the September issue of women’s magazine Prima.

In an accompanying interview she spoke about staying true to her roots, the important issues tackled on her Channel 4 show and her ambitions about one day being on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

“The best compliment I ever get is when someone says, ‘I want to go for a pint with Steph’. That’s the vibe I want to give, and it’s the thing I always try to remember about staying normal,” she told Prima.

“Obviously, my life isn’t as normal as it was, but I don’t let the impact of fame make any difference, because I think it’s important to my success to never lose my identity.

“I have to be able to look and sound like my audience, otherwise, what’s the point? It’s funny that my unique selling point is being normal.”

McGovern said that she spent much of her childhood “trying to get people to like me” – playing the part of class clown, while also achieving high grades.

She said that after launching her career at the BBC, she “refused to let being different put me off” and was later advised to just be herself.

Prior to the launch of Packed Lunch, McGovern appeared on multiple TV and radio shows across the BBC, and last year competed on ITV’s The Masked Dancer.

She told Prima she would “love” to be a contestant on Strictly but there had never been a “right time” to do it.

“I can’t do it now because I have the show and I don’t want to be away from my daughter, but I’m hoping it will still be going in years to come,” she said.

The full interview with Steph McGovern can be read in Prima’s September issue, which goes on sale on August 2.