Katherine Ryan reveals heartbreaking reason she’d let teen daughter, 14, do Love Island
KATHERINE RYAN was dating a man twice her age as a teenager – but there’s no chance the star’s 14-year-old will be a bad girl like her.
The comic reckons even if Violet was plunged into the Love Island villa, she would emerge as a girl next door like Dani Dyer.
The mum-of-three said: “In my teens, I was doing all kinds of dangerous things — sleeping out in fields and getting into random cars. At 17 I was going out with someone who was 31.
“But I don’t think Violet will make those kinds of mistakes.
Centre stage
“She probably can’t help but absorb my feminist mantras, so I think she values herself more than I did at that age.
“She’s headstrong, she knows her value, she’s really good at speaking up when she thinks someone is being exploited or that something is unfair, and she’s got great boundaries.
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“Even the best kids rebel against their parents. So unlike me, she will probably be something like an electrical engineer. Right now she’s really into real estate. If she wanted to get into TV, I wouldn’t be against Love Island. She’d be the Dani Dyer type. It will probably be one of the safest places for a teenager to be in a few years because of the safeguarding on that show.
“Hopefully I’ve given her enough support and self-esteem that she wouldn’t want to be an attention-seeking performer like I am
“I can imagine her just there to prop the other girls up and say all the right things and be a sweetheart.”
The public will soon be able to judge that for themselves when Katherine puts her daughter centre stage as part of her new show, Katherine Ryan’s Parental Guidance, which starts on Monday at 9pm on W and UKTV Play.
Despite her own experiences with predatory men in the industry, which she has spoken about previously, she is not worried about Violet.
She said: “Right now she’s not bothered about being on camera, she’s so unaffected by it all.
“She’s part of this generation of young women really advocating for themselves, and I don’t need to warn her about anything because she won’t make the mistakes I have.
“Luckily, I think she’s also inherited my Teflon sensibility when it comes to criticism.”
In the new series, Katherine, her partner Bobby Kootstra and their two other kids Fred and Fenna all feature as the couple try out-there parenting practices.
Katherine said with a laugh: “While my new show is all about controversial parenting, I do have Violet as proof that my parenting methods work.”
Karen so grin love
STRICTLY Come Dancing’s Karen Hauer is on top of the world after going Instagram official with her new man.
The loved-up picture of the dancer with former rugby player Simon Davidson comes three months after she split from businessman Jordan Wyn-Jones, her husband of 16 months.
The beaming dancer swapped sequins and feathers for a fur-hooded coat to walk in the Cheshire hills.
She snuggled up to marketing manager Simon during a break on the BBC show’s live tour.
He was seen arriving at the cast’s hotel in Birmingham last week.
The pair were first linked in December having met through friends
It’s good to see a smile on Karen’s face.
Mulhern back with a bank
ITV has recommissioned Deal Or No Deal with Stephen Mulhern back as host.
After the success of the reboot last year, the show will return with four celebrity specials, as well as regular episodes with a new batch of contestants.
Stephen said: “I can’t wait to get back to that studio!”
Kim suits Taylor special
SELF-confessed Elizabeth Taylor nerd Kim Kardashian is the unlikely driving force behind a BBC Arts documentary on the big-screen legend.
Kim will produce and feature in the special, after she won over Liz’s trust in what became her final interview before her death in 2011.
The reality star will take a deep dive into the actress’s life for the three-part series.
Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, which is in production for BBC Two, will have previously unseen TV footage, and interviews with famous names including her close friend Dame Joan Collins.
Kim said: “Elizabeth Taylor was unapologetically herself, a fighter.
“She is proof that you can keep evolving and changing.”
Palin takes Africa
SIR Michael Palin confirmed he headed off to explore Nigeria for his latest travel series – which I revealed last year.
The actor and presenter, whose past destinations include the North and South Poles and Himalayas, covered 1,300 miles for Channel 5’s Into Nigeria, set for later this year.
Line of inquiry
THE real-life look at a police force’s crime and corruption unit was inspired by hit cop drama Line Of Duty.
Channel 4’s To Catch A Copper, which continues next Monday, went behind the scenes at Avon and Somerset Police.
Chief Constable Sarah Crew said: “When the documentary makers approached us, it was off the back of the last series of Line Of Duty.”
She added: “It’s not dramatised or glamorous.”
Celebs on point
QUIZ show Pointless is preparing to welcome a new line-up of celebrity co-presenters to sit alongside Alexander Armstrong.
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Mel Giedroyc, Josh Widdicombe, Anita Rani and Gok Wan will all take their turn following Richard Osman's departure in 2022.
Chris Ramsey, Hugh Dennis, Rob Rinder and Gabby Logan will also make an appearance on the BBC One favourite.