EXCLUSIVE: Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley opens up about the whirlwind of family life, her husband’s stark wake-up call and whey she’s the ‘happiest she’s ever been’
Radio presenter Jo Whiley is grappling with an energetic new arrival. Goose – an Australian Labradoodle puppy – has spent the past month disrupting the calm of the Northamptonshire home she shares with her husband, music executive Steve Morton, their youngest daughter Coco, 17, and Golden Retriever, Django.
“It’s like throwing a grenade into the household,” the BBC broadcaster, 60, tells Notebook. “I’d forgotten how exhausting puppies are.”
Fittingly for a music-mad family, the pup’s name was inspired by the US rock band Geese. Jo, Steve and their four kids usually struggle to agree on a new pet’s name. “But someone said Goose and we were like, yeah, that could work,” she says.
They got him after Brodie, the family’s beloved Sproodle, died last October. “When a dog dies it leaves a massive hole, so it’s really nice to have a new puppy — but also a lot of work.”
This is a recognisable scene from Jo’s life now: chaotic, full of love, exhausting – and almost entirely joyous. After more than three decades on the radio – 17 years at BBC Radio 1, where she made her name during the Britpop boom, and since 2011 her weeknight show on Radio 2 – Jo says she’s “the happiest I’ve ever been”.
But midlife brings its own grenades, especially when it comes to health. Exercise is a non-negotiable for Jo, but a busy schedule has made a consistent routine impossible. Swimming is a favourite.
Jo says, “It’s really good for your body and it calms you down.” But lately there’s been a problem. Jo’s rotator cuffs – the muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint – have worn out, and recently a bone spur has grown in her left shoulder.
“Every time my arm goes over during front crawl, it catches and clicks. It’s such a horrible feeling and sound,” she says. She is now weighing up surgery, largely because the alternative is unthinkable at her age.
She adds, “I don’t like the prospect of living without being able to do front crawl. I still want to be able to swim. I’m only 60.”
Jo also loves running and gardening, which doubles as a workout and therapy. “Gardening is physically exhausting and really, really good for you. Weeding is a great way of getting rid of rage,” she laughs.
Her diet, she adds, has taken some work. “I’ve become more aware of what I’m putting into my body,” she explains. Cholesterol is the thing she watches most closely, having seen her husband bring his down after a stark wake-up call.
Both he and Jo’s uncle – who suffered a minor heart attack – were found to have dangerously high levels. “The doctors were advising Steve to start taking statins and he was like, ‘No, I’m going to try and manage this myself with my diet,’” Jo says.
He turned to Benecol spread and yoghurt drinks and brought his level down so sharply that it’s no longer a concern. Her uncle, overhauling his diet after his heart attack, did the same.
Jo says her cholesterol levels are in the healthy range but “could be lower”, so she has Benecol yoghurt every day. She also includes lots of fresh veg and lean protein, including chicken and fish, in her diet.
She’s more mindful of alcohol, too. “As I’ve got older, the hangovers are horrendous,” she admits. “I’ll have a vodka with lemonade and instantly I’m panicking about how bad I’m going to feel the next morning.”
While all this has been happening, she’s also been caring for her parents. Her mum Christine is recovering from spinal surgery and lives with arthritis, while dad Martin has Parkinson’s.
“I’m in that sandwich generation where we’re looking after the kids and the parents,” Jo says. It means she has a lot on her plate, not that she minds. “I end up sitting with them eating cream cakes and drinking lots of tea.”
Back in the 90s, Jo struggled with her self-image. “Everyone wanted to look like Kate Moss and there was a lot of scrutiny of women,” she says. “I was no different to anybody else. But I eat sensibly now. I’ve learned starvation isn’t the healthiest option.”
Losing friends over the years has changed her perspective on life, including her approach to looks. “The most important thing is that you’re fit, able and mobile. What does it matter if you’ve got wrinkles? I’m just grateful to still be functioning.”
She has the occasional facial and Profhilo – an injectable treatment that boosts skin hydration – and gets Botox twice a year. She says, “But I’m still so petrified of it. I go, ‘Stop now, stop now!’”
Jo is reassured by what she sees in her daughter Coco’s generation, far happier in their skin than she and her friends were. “She loves going to the gym, she likes being strong and fit, but she’s not obsessed with being skinny.” What worries her more is smartphones, social media and a dwindling job market.
Her kids, food photographer India, 34, writer Jude, 27, music producer Cassius, 25, and the creatively inclined Coco, are in – or entering – an arts world squeezed by funding cuts and AI. None of them are interested in nepotism to get a leg-up. “They never, ever want to use my name in any way to get any work or jobs. They’re so respectful,” Jo says proudly.
Gardening, meanwhile, has bloomed into a second career for the broadcaster. Jo hosts the Royal Horticultural Society’s Roots podcast in which she tours the gardens of celebs, including former The Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry, Gardeners’ World host Monty Don and actor Richard E Grant.
King Charles and Sir David Beckham sit at the top of her wish list. “That’s my aim for the next 12 months – to persuade them to let me go and discuss gardening with them,” Jo says.
She thinks the former footballer is a great ambassador for the green-fingered community. “David feels like a kindred spirit when it comes to the garden and family values, because they’ve got four kids and we’ve got four kids,” she says.
Sadly, her previous encounter with him, side of stage at Glastonbury a few years ago, didn’t go to plan. “I went over to him and said, ‘Hi, I’ve got four children, too!’ He went, ‘Mm-hmm’, then kind of looked away. I thought, “Of all the things to say!’”
Another source of joy in her life is best friend Zoe Ball – co-host of their podcast Dig It and a pal of 30 years. Jo says she was “gutted” when Zoe missed out on hosting Strictly Come Dancing, the job that went to Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe.
Jo says of Zoe, “She was honest about the disappointment, but also so magnanimous about the people who are going to do that job. She’s like, ‘I wanted it, I didn’t get it. Oh well, they’re going to be great.”
Despite the inevitable chaos of midlife, Jo has no intention of slowing down. She reels off broadcasters including the late Annie Nightingale, Steve Wright and Johnnie Walker, who worked until the very end.
“That’s the joy of radio,” she says. “You can keep on talking as long as you’ve got breath in your body. And as long as I have a microphone in front of me and someone wants me, I’ll carry on doing it.”
Jo Whiley has partnered with Benecol to celebrate a ‘life that keeps on moving’, highlighting the importance of staying active, embracing change and making positive choices at every age.
You can listen to or watch Dig It, the Midlife Special episode hosted by Jo & Zoe, across most streaming platforms including Spotify & YouTube.
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