How do you unwind at the weekend?
I unwind at different points in the week as I'm often working but I like to watch a bit of TV and movies. At the moment I am watching the series Suits. It's a great show about lawyers and even though it's entertainment, it's realistic. But I don't think I will be giving up my career for law any time soon.
What do you recall about your weekends growing up?
It would be family time – me, my mum Edelle, my dad Paul, and then my younger brother Callum, who's 12. We went on family day trips, often to Donegal which is gorgeous with the beaches. We'd go to places like Culduff in Inishowen. It was always family time. My mother, who was a clerical officer in the health service, and my father, who used to be an engineer, both work for me now. I wouldn't call them marketing people – that's too formal – they're just behind the scenes helping me with the TV shows and stuff.
Friday night or Saturday night?
Probably a Saturday night person because that's when the prime TV shows are on. I enjoy Strictly, all the interview shows including The Graham Norton Show, and of course Ant and Dec.
Do you have a must-listen weekend radio show?
Not really, I'm more of a podcast person. I sometimes press Shuffle on YouTube and listen to a random podcast. I also often go for business podcasts for the stories of interesting people and their journeys.
Do you have a must-watch TV show or box set?
Every Thursday I watch Blue Peter episodes afterwards on iPlayer, to learn things and maybe see where I messed up. I enjoyed this year's I'm A Celeb (Get me Out of Here).
Favourite eatery or is it a takeaway?
I love the odd takeaway and one of my favourites is pizza but without cheese. I hate cheese. I also like a Chinese or an Indian or the classic burger and chips. I fly over to Manchester every week to do Blue Peter and started just before the second lockdown so haven't had time to check out the restaurants. I have my own flat and have started cooking. So pasta with garlic bread, maybe with chips on the side. Every time I'm home my mum teaches me a new dish.
Is Sunday still special?
Yeah, definitely, even when I'm very busy I try to make Sunday the chill day. I sit down and relax and try to turn my phone off – it's hard, because most of the time I'm on the computer.
How do you feel on Sunday about Monday morning?
I look forward to getting back to work. I'm bothered if I haven't uploaded a (new) video in three to four days. It's like you haven't done your homework. The hardest part is looking for ideas but recently I surprised this kid, Stuart, at my old secondary school in Derry with a lot of tech and equipment because I'd learnt he was being bullied. I related to that as I was bullied too. But even though people laughed at what I was doing creatively, I always had this passion and drive that I knew I'd follow, no matter what. You just have to keep going.
:: Blue Peter is on CBBC, Thursdays, 5pm on and BBC iPlayer.
