Edith Bowman and her mother look back: ‘My Scottish accent got me professional knockbacks, but I’m so glad I didn’t have elocution lessons’

Born successful Fife successful 1974, broadcaster Edith Bowman started her radio vocation portion doing connection studies astatine Queen Margaret University College successful Edinburgh. Her archetypal on-screen occupation was as a quality presenter for MTV UK in the aboriginal 00s. Top of the Pops, royal wedding coverage, the Baftas and shows connected BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music followed. Soundtracking, the film and euphony podcast she launched successful 2016, is disposable connected each providers. She is joined to Tom Smith of the set Editors, has 2 children and lives successful Gloucestershire.

Edith

This representation was taken astatine Circus World successful Florida. We got to take our makeup, costumes and accessories separately, but turned up dressed the same. It’s precise apt that I’m a mini clown mentation of her – she had maine erstwhile she was 19, and I was ever by her side.

This was a peculiar holiday. All of them were, whether we were successful Florida oregon a caravan successful Scotland. Mum and Dad ran a household hotel, on with her sisters and my grandpa and grandma. The enactment docket was brutal, truthful holidays were a large deal. Our clip unneurotic was astir our small portion – Mum, Dad, maine and my member – making the astir of it.

The edifice was an astonishing situation to turn up successful – it’s wherever I got my enactment ethic, but besides wherever I learned however to speech to people. I’d ever beryllium astatine the reception, answering the phone, greeting guests arsenic they arrived, oregon moving down the bar. It was a portal to a beingness extracurricular our tiny little sportfishing colony of Anstruther. People would enactment from each implicit the satellite and I would get snapshots into antithetic cultures extracurricular our bubble.

Mum ever jokes that she knew I was going to permission earlier I did. Growing up, we’d often person vigor stations travel and bash roadshows from the hotel, which wholly sparked my ambition. But the older I got, the much claustrophobic I felt. Case successful point: I applied for my driving licence the day of my 17th birthday. I was benignant of a shitty teen due to the fact that of the boredom, and started drinking truly early. I didn’t bash good successful my Higher exams arsenic a result, which was atrocious due to the fact that they were a summons retired of Anstruther. But, eventually, I knuckled down.

I got enactment acquisition astatine Radio Forth successful Edinburgh earlier I adjacent started uni, and my grade suffered due to the fact that I spent each infinitesimal successful the studio. I was besides sending retired tons of amusement reels, but I got loads of knockbacks, and atrocious feedback astir my accent. Thankfully, MTV gave maine a changeable – they wanted to represent the UK with a scope of voices, which was a first. I’m truthful gladsome that I stuck to my guns and didn’t person elocution lessons, arsenic being Scottish is who I am, and I’m arrogant of that. It besides ended up becoming my chaotic card.

Even erstwhile I was connected MTV and Radio 1, I would spell backmost location arsenic often arsenic I perchance could. It didn’t substance if I was “on holiday” – I’d locomotion successful and get my waitress outfit connected and bash shifts astatine the hotel, adjacent connected Christmas Day. I couldn’t not! I made definite to bring Mum on for immoderate enactment trips I went on, too. Presenting T successful the Park was 1 of my gigs, and she would sometimes travel with me. I’d enactment for eight hours straight, truthful I couldn’t truly babysit my positive 1 – I had to spot her to spell disconnected and bash immoderate she wanted. One clip she went missing for a while. I was asking everyone: “Has anyone seen my mum?” My co-host Dougie [Anderson] goes: “Is that not her connected the monitor?” Cut to my mum connected screen, broadside of stage, arsenic Primal Scream play Country Girl. She’s determination doing aerial tambourine. Mum is precise astatine ease, nary substance who you present her to. She met Rod Stewart and managed to clasp it together, and spoke to Sharleen Spiteri arsenic if she’d known her a lifetime.

A fewer months aft having my archetypal lad Rudy, I was struggling. Tom was distant connected tour, and I was speaking to mum connected the telephone astir thing successful particular. I inherited from her a definite grade of not wanting to load anyone with my troubles. But she indispensable person detected it successful my voice. About 4 hours later, she appeared astatine my beforehand door. That’s the happening astir Mum. She mightiness beryllium bully fun, but she is besides the idiosyncratic that radical gravitate towards for help, support, proposal and guidance.

In my family, we gag astir her sanction being Eleanor “I’m fine” Bowman. Even erstwhile she had bosom crab in 2004, she was much acrophobic astir however we were feeling astir it, and kept it from maine and my member for arsenic agelong arsenic she could. I person told her she’s not allowed to bash that immoderate more. No substance what she is going through, she is simply a beacon of airy and I am perpetually amazed by her.

Eleanor

This was a magical day. We got painted up and past got connected a rollercoaster. It was truthful accelerated 1 of the wigs fell disconnected and hit the idiosyncratic down us! It’s comic – I can’t retrieve what I did yesterday, but I bash retrieve everything astir that holiday.

Growing up, Edith was expected to help retired astatine the household edifice connected the weekends, which meant she had to sacrifice a batch of her clip with friends. It didn’t halt her, though – she would extremity up going retired astatine 10 o’clock aft her displacement finished. Edith was rather chaotic and rebellious. When we recovered retired that she had started smoking we were atrocious to her – making her fume a whole cigaret successful beforehand of us. It helped, but you wouldn’t get distant with that present without being reported to Childline.

I knew that Anstruther was ne'er going to beryllium large capable for Edith. She tried everything to get into the media – penning to vigor and tv stations. Nothing came up until the spot astatine Radio Forth – and adjacent past they said to her: “You don’t expect america to enactment you connected the vigor speaking similar that?” She thought: “I don’t privation to alteration however I speak. It’s me.” The archetypal clip she was connected the radio, I was picking up a radical of golfers from St Andrews and driving them backmost to the hotel. Just arsenic we were arriving, Edith came connected the aerial – I did six laps of the car parkland truthful I could perceive it all.

Edith is precise benignant and is ever taking maine to antithetic gigs. Last year, for my 70th, we went to Munich unneurotic to spot Adele and Coldplay. It was fabulous. I’ve met Chris Martin a fewer times, and helium is my favourite. Such a lovely, gentle, sincere guy.

I americium truthful arrogant of Edith. Even though I wanted to beryllium an histrion erstwhile I was younger, I didn’t person the guts to bash what she has done. Sometimes she gets a spot of instrumentality for not staying successful Scotland, but Scotland truly didn’t person thing for her erstwhile she was looking for it.

What I respect astir astir Edith is that she has ne'er changed. She might beryllium doing the reddish carpet astatine the Baftas, oregon having a java with maine and my friends aft cold-water swimming, and she’s inactive the nonstop aforesaid Edith.