Strong and sassy, frank and forthright, Vogue Williams isn’t your timid type. So it’s intriguing to hear that the woman who beat two top sporting legends – Dame Kelly Holmes and Mike Tindall – to win the notoriously tough reality series Bear Grylls: Mission Survive a few years back was so freaked out during the filming of her latest show, she had to sleep with the lights on.
In Spooked: Ireland, we see the 37-year-old mum-of-three in her beloved Emerald Isle, where she was brought up, to explore the country’s most haunted locations. And even for a self-confessed sceptic like Vogue, it proved a spine-tingling experience. Uncovering chilling mysteries, myths and tales of murder, a team of experts attempt to bring peace to tortured souls refusing to leave their earthly dwellings, while Vogue also speaks to terrified locals desperate for help. No wonder she went home feeling a bit jumpy!
"I think if Spenny had been with me, I would have been totally fine, but I was getting back to my hotel at 2am after a day’s filming and leaving all the lights and the TV on because I was so on edge," Vogue tells HELLO!, Spenny being her husband of five years, entrepreneur and media personality Spencer Matthews. "It felt so much more scary, being on my own," adds Vogue, who looks the very model of calm and poise in our exclusive photo shoot.
It's not just spooky encounters that have made the podcast host feel nervous recently. When we speak, Vogue and Spencer are about to wave their eldest child, five-year-old Theodore, off to his first day at school. "It's a really big moment for him - and mad for us to think about,” says Vogue. "I'm sure I will probably cry, but I'm also just super proud of him. He's going to absolutely love it, I know he will, as he loves being around other kids and is such a sociable boy."
Vogue’s face lights up she talks about her children – alongside Theodore, she also shares Gigi, three, and one-year-old Otto, with Spencer, whom she married in June 2018 in a beautiful ceremony covered exclusively by HELLO! "I would love to keep them at the age they are, as they are so fascinating. They are hilarious to us and they're all so different. I just want them to have a really great childhood and just enjoy themselves."
With three little ones and a busy work diary that sees her juggling presenting work with fashion collaborations and podcasts, life is full on for Vogue, so she was delighted that her latest project gave her an excuse to spend more time in Ireland. "I love being able to go home and the filming was in these amazing historical areas, so I felt like I learned so much about the history of my country," she tells HELLO!
Spooked Ireland is on Really and Discovery+ from 29 September, Fridays at 9pm.
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