Fi Glover
Broadcaster and Writer
Fi Glover is a radio presenter whose voice will be familiar to many of you who tune in to BBCs Radio 4. Fascinated by radio from a very early age she was determined to become a broadcaster. After studying she joined the BBC as a trainee reporter and has presented many programs over the years. Listening to her on radio it’s obvious that she loves the medium as she is incredibly engaging and very natural.
She grew up in Winchester with her mother and her sister, while her dad worked in Hong Kong. Her childhood was characterized by a lot of travelling between the two places. After studying classical history and philosophy at the University of Kent she set foot in London permanently. It felt like a big leap when she eventually moved to Dalston 15 years ago. The area was rough and had a bad reputation, but Fi liked it from the very first moment. It was the affordable house prices that made her consider it but – more importantly – she immediately felt a huge affinity for the place. Quite contrary to her restless upbringing, Fi has become deeply rooted in Hackney, where she still lives with her husband and two children. “Just the thought of moving away from here makes her feel uncomfortable”, she says.
These days, Fi can he heard in two different Radio 4 broadcasts. The Listening Project, which records people’s conversations across the UK, is a format where people have rare and meaningful conversations with each other. The conversations are archived and preserved for future generations. These aural snapshots of our lives are very close to Fi’s heart - not least because they make participants happy, almost without exception. The show is incredibly popular and attracts 2 million listeners a week. The other, Two Rooms, involves two groups of voters sharing their contrasting experiences and feelings about how society in Britain is changing. It runs up until the general elections in May
Bar a stint presenting BBC2’s The Travel Show in the 1990s and participating in the Celebrity Bake Off in 2012, Fi has rarely been on screen. She’s not being recognized on the street (except by her voice sometimes) and likes it that way, she says. This might change though. Fi is currently on television once more fronting the new history reality series ’24 Hours in the Past’.
As much as she enjoys doing TV programs once in a while, she is definitely more at home at the radio. “It’s a comfortable, fuzzy, and lovely place to be”. One has no doubt that this is true when says that in her extraordinarily harmonious, calm and warm voice.
What drew you to Hackney? I moved to Dalston in 1999 - I just liked it. Way back then it was an affordable part of town too. Although a bugger to get to from Television Centre in W12. I think I liked that fact too!
Does the area influence your work? Yes - it has done hugely. We have lived in several different parts of Hackney and Dalston over the last two decades and every one of them has a sense of community - every one has a different identity, every one has had wonderful people within it. Basically I chat for a living, and Hackney still chats!
What makes you most proud? My kids. And Mr Jones. Obv. (I am officially a Mrs Jones these days...). And also ‚The Listening Project’
What are you working on now? I've just finished a BBC 1 history show called 24 Hours in the Past - it's proper dirty, filthy, squalid living history where 6 well known people have to work like proper Victorians. It's gorgeous and I don't want to give too much away but former Home Office Minister Anne Widdicombe spends a bit of time in a punishment cell. I never thought I'd get to introduce that!
Best coffee in these parts? Mmm. At home probably.
Where do you eat out? The Prince George, Bella Vita and Rotorinho for special nights. We walk home from school past Violet. Sometimes we succumb.
What do you do at the weekend? At the moment we do football, then football, then some gymnastics, then more football. (they are 9 and 7...)
Anything you would change? I don't like the high rises.
Hackney's best-kept secret? Well if I told you then......
If Hackney were human? Sheila Hancock
Hackney in a word? Home.
This interview appeared in the May 2015 issue of E9 Magazine