Loved-up Christine Bleakley talks having babies with Frank Lampard
And she reveals her next TV show with Adrian Chiles will be 'more of a laugh' than The One Show
She’s about to spend five nights in a haunted hotel for a spooky new series, but Christine Lampard has already had a close encounter with things that go bump in the night.
“Years ago, when I was working for BBC Northern Ireland, I got moved out of a hotel room because it was meant to be haunted,” reveals the 37-year-old presenter to TV Magazine.
“The staff came up and said: ‘No girl ever stays in this room on her own!’ That freaked me out.”
There will be plenty more scares for Christine this week when she fronts Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live, alongside Matt Richardson and The Sun’s film critic Jamie East.
The trio will welcome different celebrities each night to spend a bone-chilling evening in what’s been dubbed ‘Britain’s spookiest hotel’ in Kent, and viewers will vote for which star completes a series of scary tasks – culminating in a terrifying finale on Halloween night.
“We’re not revealing the name of the hotel or the celebrities until just before we go to air, but the show is like I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! meets Most Haunted,” Christine teases.
“It will be interesting to see how the different celebs cope and because we’re live, we have no idea what will happen!”
The show marks Christine’s return to British screens, having been mainly in America since July 2015 when footballer hubby Frank Lampard joined New York City FC.
“New York has been a lovely experience,” beams the brunette. “I have been back and forth the whole time because home is still here in London, but it’s been a crazy year.”
Rather than trying to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cat Deeley and carve out a new career on American telly, Christine has been content to just enjoy herself in the Big Apple.
“Because I wasn’t there solidly, I just wanted to live life a bit,” she laughs. “I did things like going to [US exercise craze] SoulCycle, though probably not as much as I should, and eating my way through Manhattan!”
As for her first year of marriage, the star is still happily ensconced in a newlywed bubble.
“The great thing is that we were together a long time before we got married, so nothing technically changes, but it sort of does at the same time,” explains Christine.
“It feels different, in a lovely way, and very comfortable. I don’t know how long you are supposed to cling on to that honeymoon period for, but I have tried to hold on to it.”
Christine is already a stepmum to Frank’s two daughters – Luna, 11, and Isla, nine, from his relationship with model Elen Rivas – but does she hope to have children of her own?
“I am very happy just to see what comes on that front,” she smiles. “I very much feel like a newlywed and, unfortunately, I still feel like I’m 18 – which I am not!”
Whatever happens in the future family-wise, Christine’s diary is already filling up for next year with the recent announcement that she will once again be reteaming with TV hubby Adrian Chiles, with whom she hosted The One Show and Daybreak, for a forthcoming BBC show, The Nature Of Friendship.
“We’re still having discussions about what the new show will be about,” Christine reveals. “However, I’d really like to do something a bit different from The One Show, something where we can have a bit more of a laugh.
“What will it be like working together again? We will probably just bicker like we always did. I will tell him off, he will get huffy and then I’ll try to snap him out of it. It will be fun!”
NEW! Celebrity Haunted Hotel Live Thursday & Friday 9pm W