JUNE SARPONG
The broadcaster and campaigner on changing the face of British TV
In the course of her sparkling career, June Sarpong has interviewed Princes, Presidents and Prime Ministers, partied with the A-list and received an OBE for her services to broadcasting. And the TV presenter, activist and author has plenty more to tick off her bucket list.
“I want to visit every single African country,” June, who has Ghanaian heritage, tells hello! in our exclusive interview. “It will be about meeting people, the art and the food. Africa has had such misrepresentation in the world, so to be able to tell a more honest story of the continent would be lovely.”
As far as once-in-alifetime experiences go, June already has a fair few under her belt. Recently, she hosted a conversation between two of the world’s most influential figures, former US President Barack Obama and footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford, at a virtual event last month.
“It was so much fun,” smiles June, 44. “The lovely thing was that off-camera, they were so excited about meeting each other. I think Barack Obama sees something of himself in Marcus, and I think Marcus sees Barack Obama as a role-model father figure. They’re both unifying figures who bring people from different backgrounds together.”
Since starting out as a bubbly presenter on T4, Channel 4’s youth strand, and working on shows including ITV’s Loose Women and Sky News’s The Pledge, June has interviewed some of the biggest names: the Prince of Wales, actor George Clooney, former Prime Minister Tony Blair
‘There’s a real opportunity to create something good – and that is men and women having equal value. The time is now’
and South African leader Nelson Mandela – whom she says had the most profound impact on her when she hosted his 90th birthday celebrations in Hyde Park in 2008. “He was an amazing man; I feel very lucky to have spent time with him and seen his wonderful sense of humour.”
June also tackles society’s biggest issues, from racism to sexism. She has written books, including Diversify, which outlines the benefits of integration, and The Power of Privilege, exploring how white people can challenge racism. And she has just revised her 2018 book The Power of Women, about why feminism benefits everyone.
“I wanted to talk about how, with the pandemic making us re-evaluate, this is an opportunity to find a way of working that is more supportive of women.
“The world of work has been designed for how men function,” says June. “We need something that considers the way women’s bodies work, for instance our hormone cycles and how they impact our energy. The Covid crisis has disproportionately affected women in terms of the numbers being furloughed and not going back to work.”
POWER UP
The new edition also explores how women can reclaim power over their bodies and safety in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder in London in March.
“The minute a girl hits her teenage years, her parents give the talk on how to keep herself safe, but there’s no focus on the person who might make her unsafe,” says June. “We need to have those conversations with our boys and take the pressure off women to keep ourselves safe.
“There’s a real opportunity to create something good – and that is men and women having equal value. The time is now.”
June is also passionate about improving diversity in the media. In 2019, she was appointed the BBC’s first director of creative diversity. “What’s really driving the change [is that] audiences want to see themselves and to see stories that might be different from their own. When you look at the new generation of diverse talent who are telling stories, it makes for better creativity and that is wonderful.”