TV chef Andi Oliver and her daughter Miquita have an incredibly close relationship, both on screen and off screen.
The pair have starred together on Celebrity Gogglebox and co-host their own podcast Stirring It Up which sees the duo welcome a special guest each week as they gather for hearty food and a good chat.
And now Andi, 61, has opened up to Good Housekeeping magazine about her experience of becoming a mother when she was just 20-years-old and how she found herself raising a ‘ridiculously famous teenager’ as Miquita was soon launched into a career on TV.
The former singer, who is the magazine’s March cover star, joked: ‘I just got on with it! I didn’t have a nine-to-five job, ever, so she came with me and when we did a gig, someone would stand at the side of the stage holding her.’
Miquita, now 39, was just 16 when she rose to fame as the co-host of Channel 4’s Popworld from 2001 to 2006 alongside Simon Amstell.
Andi Oliver, 61, has revealed what it was like becoming a mother at just aged 20 as she discusses raising her ‘ridiculously famous teenager’ Miquita during an interview with Good Housekeeping Magazine
The former singer joked: ‘I just got on with it! I didn’t have a nine-to-five job, ever, so she came with me and when we did a gig, someone would stand at the side of the stage holding her’
She then went on to become the face of T4, which she starred on until 2010.
Speaking about what it was like parenting the young presenter, Andi explained her priority was always her daughter’s happiness.
‘I just wanted Miquita to do things that made her happy – and I’ve said that to her all her life. She was on TV by the time she was 15, and that was really hard for her.
‘Her best friend was – is – Lily Allen. The pair of them were these ridiculously famous teenagers, trying to manage all the baggage that came with that. Along with Alison, Lily’s mum, there wasn’t much we could do.
She continued: ‘I wasn’t going to lock Miquita up in the house, but she did go a bit off the rails in the middle. It all got a bit out of control, and the same thing happened to Lily.
‘But the crashes they both experienced have been the making of them. Miquita has become this extraordinary young woman.’
Miquita was declared bankrupt in February 2012 after being unable to pay a £174,000 tax bill.
Opening up about her financial difficulties in the BBC Three programme Young, British & Broke back in 2013, the star admitted she was so ashamed about her financial troubles that she didn’t tell anybody for two years.
Andi looked sensational as she donned a bright orange dress for her shoot as the magazine’s March cover star
Speaking about what it was like parenting the young presenter, Andi explained her priority was always her daughter’s happiness
Miquita, now 39, was just 16 when she rose to fame as the co-host of Channel 4’s Popworld from 2001 to 2006 alongside Simon Amstell (pictured in 2001 with co-presenter Simon)
Miquita said: ‘At 17 I was earning money I didn’t know how to handle and before I knew it I owed thousands to the taxman. I just felt like I couldn’t breathe and that I was sinking. I was so scared about my future and I didn’t tell anyone for 2 years.
‘When I was declared bankrupt it felt like I was in a financial mess I would never get out of.’
The star was also temporarily suspended by Channel 4 in 2010 after she was overheard insulting American singer Kesha after interviewing her at the NME Awards.
The remark was overheard by a member of Kesha’s management team and the singer’s furious manager swiftly complained to Channel 4.
Yet Andi explained that is all now in the past and the pair have begun 2024 by kickstarting season three of their podcast.
The star also touched on her secret to thriving in such a white, male-dominated industry, revealing ‘I just don’t care what people think of me, and I guess that’s my superpower.
Miquita is best friend with pop sensation Lily Allen, 38, after the pair were thrown into the limelight at the same time as teenagers
Andi added: ‘I wasn’t going to lock Miquita up in the house, but she did go a bit off the rails in the middle…But the crashes they both experienced have been the making of them. Miquita has become this extraordinary young woman’ (pictured in 2022)
Andi revealed the new series of the Great British Menu is ‘going to be spectacular’ (pictured alongside judges Ed Gamble, Shauna Coxsey, Andi Oliver, Nisha Katona and Tom Kerridge)
‘I will not be bullied. I will not be led by other people’s ideas about my limitations. I don’t like people telling me what to do I’m not very good with authority, which was a problem when I was at school.’
It’s been a busy period for Andi who has also been filming for the new series of the Great British Menu.
Discussing the latest season, she revealed: ‘It’s going to be spectacular. We’re at a very interesting time in the restaurant industry, because it used to be that chefs felt they had to leave where they grew up and come to London to find success; that there was only one route to culinary excellence.
‘People don’t feel they have to do that any more.’
The March 2024 issue of Good Housekeeping is now on sale.
Andi hosts Great British Menu on BBC Two. Stirring it Up With Andi & Miquita Oliver is available from all major podcast providers.
