Michael Bracewell - The Nineties - When Surface was Depth

‘Bob went too far on “Shooting Stars” once – with a gag about my son during my divorce – but I laughed along with it and he apologized later so it was all OK. I don’t know why they thought of me for “Shooting Stars” in the first place. But I was a great fan of Vic and Bob so they didn’t have to ask twice. I remember doing the first series and just enjoying myself, but having no real sense of achievement. And then suddenly everyone was saying how brilliant it was to have me on the programme, and how clever I was. And I was thinking, “But I’m not doing anything – I’m just being me.” I’m really good at word association, and that kind of fits in with the way Vic and Bob tend to work. It was really just repositioning people’s perception of me, after seeing me reading the weather or presenting “Gladiators”.’

With this in mind, you feel that Ulrika ought to be appearing at Glastonbury with the Beastie Boys, or doing a collaboration with Damien Hirst. Contemporary culture thrives on such unlikely combinations, merging the radical and the populist in a way that seems to sum up the quirks of the zeitgeist.

‘I’d do anything with Bruce Springsteen like a shot,’ says Ulrika, laughing. ‘But this is all really new for me. “Shooting Stars” was a cult show, but does that make me a cult figure, or simply a member of a cult show? It’s interesting how things have changed for me, after feeling the pull, so to speak, of “Shooting Stars”, but I’d prefer to wait and see how things develop.

‘Age doesn’t bother me. Turning thirty was great, and turning forty just reminds me that I’m mortal! I’m quite enjoying maturity. With the programmes I get offered, I’ve tried to be true to myself and only do the things which I think are worthwhile. But increasingly I’ve found that I’m not being offered anything I particularly want to do. I certainly don’t do this for the money, and I have never been dependent on anyone financially. I’m not being negative, I’m simply saying that I’d like to step outside the circle, so to speak, and consider new things.’

Ultimately, Ulrika Jonsson would seem to be at that crossroads in her life that comes to us all with the approach of middle age. On the one hand, there’s a career to pursue, and all the pleasures of success. On the other, particularly with raising young children, a whole new set of priorities comes into play. One can’t help thinking of the way in which Zoe Ball, also, has made a fairly public attempt to use domesticity to distance herself from her image as a good-time girl who’s one of the boys. It’s probably a common feature of early middle age, simply to want the best of both worlds, and that’s where Ulrika seems to be at. Also, you get the feeling that she’s pretty sick of the ‘girly’ image.

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