Katie Derham, radio and podcast presenter, the face of the Proms, West Sussex resident and now Patron of the Cuckfield Music Festival talks briefly to Cuckfield Life about her association with the festival and her life in Sussex.

How long have you lived in Mid Sussex and what was it that attracted you to the area in the first place?
We moved down here in 2008. We were living in North London at the time and we needed a bit more space. We didn’t have any connections particularly to the area at all, but obviously, we knew that it was commutable, pretty and well served with good schools.

How is it that you’re involved in Cuckfield Music festival? And how long have you been there patron?
This is my first year as Patron actually. We had talked about me being involved before, but obviously then COVID hit, and then I was away on holiday when the festival was on last year, so from a practical point of view that wouldn’t have worked because I wasn’t able to be here in person. But now I am involved, and it’s lovely because it is such a great event and I get to help with the judging for the Sussex Young Musician Competition too so that’s an added bonus.

There has been some talk about a possible award linked to the Cuckfield Music Festival – are you able to tell us a little more about that?
We’re actually having a debrief about this very subject after our interview so we’ll talk about whether or not that could work with the team then. I think it’s really nice to be able to support the festival so watch this space.

In 2015 you signed up to star in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing with the lovely Anton du Bec – what was that like and did you ever rehearse locally?
That was fantastic. It was really good fun. I had a lovely time. Anton is such a great guy and very interesting. When you’re working on a show like that it’s really intense because you’re rehearsing together seven or eight hours a day so it’s pretty full on. Yes, sometimes, if I had been working at home then we’d rehearse at Dolphin Centre in Haywards Heath.

The 2022 BBC Proms returns to the Royal Albert Hall again this year – will you be presenting this years’ show?
Yes, I am. It’s always such a wonderful event and being on stage makes you slightly feel like Beyonce because it’s massive and it’s packed with promises. And it’s always sold out because people just love it. This year its back in full throttle and it’s the full eight weeks so people are in for real treat.

What’s your one piece of sound advice?
I often say to my girls, always be nice, and always be polite, because you never know who might be listening.