The Scottish presenter on mindful skincare, Southside favourites and a passion for storytelling

Lead image credit: Gerardo Jaconelli

I like getting up early when I can, so the alarm goes off about 6.15am. I go to the gym quite often, and I’m loving reformer pilates right now. It’s a really good way to start the day, because it gives me time to wake up, and I can also practise a bit of mindfulness and breathing. I’ve also recently started playing padel with my other half, so we’ll have an early morning match with another couple we know. I’ll eat a homemade egg muffin on the go, and have a coffee if I’ve got time to make one. 

If I’m not working, you can guarantee that I’ll be in the most comfy, boring outfit. I wear a lot of black leggings, hoodies, and oversized T-shirts. I have a drawer full of Adanola. My staple is just to throw on a blazer – jeans and a blazer if it’s radio and more laid-back, or a tailored, suit-style blazer if I need to look more formal. 

As I’ve gotten older, I pay a lot more attention to skincare – when I was younger I would have just gone to sleep with my makeup on. I take time over skincare now, and I’ll do a proper cleanse and tone, as well as monthly facials. I don’t know how much money I’ve spent on lasers, gua sha tools and ice rollers. As much as I notice a difference in my skin, I also enjoy the process – because if I’m spending 10 minutes doing a facial routine, I’m not looking at my phone. I’ve always been an absolute sucker for a bath, and I’ll take a book in or I’ll prop up my iPad and watch something. I find it’s a really good way to switch off, especially from working in a newsroom, which is full of increasingly bad news at the moment.

I’ve always felt passionate about the job, even though it changes. Right now, my portfolio is very varied. I’ll do radio, I do a football podcast. I work in news [co-presenting Reporting Scotland: News at Seven] and host lots of different events. The thread that links it all is that I’m just passionate when it comes to talking to people, telling their stories, and seeing them being recognised for amazing work. That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Hosting The Saturday Show with Steven Mill. Credit: BBC Scotland

I’m hosting the Scottish Influencer Awards in May. When people thought of influencers previously, they were probably thinking more about top line figures, like followers. I think the whole industry has shifted, and it’s more about people who are authentic, with a real niche area and audience. That’s what I’m really looking forward to – there’ll be people that I might never have come across because they’re in a completely different space, but you get to find out what they’re passionate about. It brings so many different people together.

I’ve hosted the Hogmanay show on BBC Scotland for the past two years, and I absolutely love it. I was an absolute ball of nerves and anxiety the first time, but when that red light appears on the camera and you’re going live, you switch it on as a performer. It’s such a prestigious programme and so many people watch it, so to be able to carry the baton and present it has already exceeded my career expectations.

Afternoons can be absolutely rammed – there are always meetings, or I’m in the studio doing pre-recorded slots. When it gets to the evening, quite often I’m not home until about eight o’clock. I get straight out of my work clothes into my jammies, scrub my makeup off, put my hair up in a ponytail, and have some dinner. 

Presenting Hogmanay 2025

You can guarantee some sort of live sport will be on the TV. It’s a very relaxed setup – it’s pretty much about lying on the sofa under a blanket and trying not to fall asleep, then I’ll aim to be in bed by 10.30pm. A lot of the books that I read end up being for research purposes. The last one was I Shop, Therefore I Am by Mary Portas, which was very funny and insightful.

If I’m out for the evening in Glasgow with friends or my other half, we love going to Cibo in the Southside for pizza, pasta or a wee Aperol after work. There’s a lovely cocktail bar called Lunar, also in the Southside, and Henry’s bar does a great margarita. When I’ve got any downtime, I really enjoy getting out of the city. We used to live up in Aberfoyle when I was a kid, and there are some amazing loch walks up there.

I’m such a neat freak, that if I had an extra hour in the day, I’d probably be doing more cleaning or washing. But when I really think about it… I’d want to use it to pick up the phone and call the important people in my life that I wish I had more time to check in with – like one of my best friends in Dublin, or my 95-year-old granny in Dumfries.

The Scottish Influencer Awards takes place on Sunday 3rd May at Radisson RED Glasgow