OK! Interview

The thought of working with your spouse might be horrifying for some people, but fame academy voice coaches Carrie, 37, and David grant, 46, love it. Carrie, who was a pop singer herself (Her fisrt claim to fame was singing I’m never giving up as part of the group Sweet dreams in the 1983 Eurovision song contest), says ‘David’s the only person I can work with 24 hours a day,’ and David repays the compliment: ‘Carrie’s the first person I’ve ever met who I can spend every day with without wanting to run away.’
OK! Visited the pair, who have two daughters, at their North London home to talk about their relationship on and off screen, Carrie’s 20-year battle against Crohn’s disease, and the time when they were so poor - after David’s ‘80’s pop career with pop group Linx waned - that they couldn’t afford to buy food…

Let’s talk about the show. It was dubbed ‘Lame academy’ last year - did you think that was fair?

C: the early shows really deserved that name. Lame was being nice! The early part of the series did not live up to what it was meant to be. People were saying the talent wasn’t good enough, but it should’ve been explained that the talent had to be worked on throughout the series. The mission statement was wrong. It sounded fantastic in theory, but in reality it needed to be improved, and that’s what we’ve done in series two.

We’ve seen on Fame academy that you’re not afraid to disagree with each other…

C: Someone saw us disagree on the show and asked us if we were alright. I laughed. I mean, we have two separate brains! People must have a fragile idea of marriage if they think you have to agree all the time. We’ve never taken a work argument home, although I bet later on in the series I’ll be waking David up at three in the morning to talk about Fame academy!

Do you think you’ll ever row with each other on screen?

D: It’s possible, but I doubt it. It’s healthy for two people who spend so much time together to remain individuals. I never know what Carrie’s thinking - her being mysterious is what keeps me so intrigued. I feel like, after 17 years, I know less about her than when I first met her. She’s different every day; her tastes are so varied, which is hard when I’m trying to buy her presents!

Do the two of you find it difficult to give criticism on the show?

C: I have trouble doing that. Our job is really hard. On this series we’re judging the contestants more directly - the contestants’ families are closer and that makes the job even harder. Some things are difficult for people to hear, but if they’re told in the right way it can be helpful. It prepares people for the music industry and the rejection they’ll face.

Did you suffer tough times back when you were both singers?

D: Most people [in the music business] fulfil their dream when they’re only 22, then they’re in a situation where there’s nothing left for them to do in their lives.
C: Being kicked down is something that’s happened to nearly every artist. When I met David he’d had 14 hit records [such as Intuition with Linx in 1981 and Could it be I’m falling in love with Jaki graham in 1985]. I had to watch him going from having cars pick him up to having no money for us even to get on the tube! We didn’t have the fare to get into town to record vocals to earn money.

What did you learn from taking that downward journey?

C: We realise that things go in seasons. Things are fantastic for us now, but we’re both painfully aware that this could all end tomorrow. I’m passionate about my work and I hope it continues on this level, but if it fails then it’s not the end of the world. What really matters to me are David, my children, my family and my friends.
D: when I meet people who had hits in the ‘90’s, like I did, they still pretend they’re working on projects. When they ask me what I’m doing I’m honest and tell them: ‘nothing.’ People are scared to admit it’s over. I’m just enjoying my second chance now. The first time I was insecure and thought I had to be cool, but now I’m more secure as a person, and I just enjoy life.

How bad did things get for you during that time?

D: we had to eat tuna and pasta and drink water every night for a while [laughs]. Every month was a struggle. Our friends bought us some shopping once. We hadn’t told them thing were down, they just started to guess.

What was your relationship like when you were going through those though times?

C: It was hard. I have Crohn’s disease and I had lots of operations. At the beginning when we got married things were great, but then things got harder and harder.

It would’ve been so easy for you two to split up back then…

C: Yes, definitely. But we communicated and were determined not to turn the difficulties on each other.
D: When we first got married we had a stormy couple of months, so we sat down and made a pact to return to how we were behaving before the wedding. Those first years were a great foundation for our marriage.

And the two of you are still going strong after 15 years of marriage…

C: You learn some good lessons when the bad is brought on. I’d say our marriage is fantastic, but real. Things are far from perfect, but we’re fantastically happy that way. I felt so sorry about Kym Marsh and Jack Ryder. They said in OK! That they never argued, which is worrying, and now they’re saying that they never stop arguing.
D: It’s rubbish to think that things can go perfectly.

Tell us about your disease, Carrie…

I’ve had crohn’s disease since I was 18. It affects your bowel. I have it quite severely and I had to have major surgery. There have been times in hospital when things have been really painful and I’ve been very ill.
D: It was hard. As a man, I wanted to protect the woman I love.

How does the disease affect you day to day?

I have flare ups every few months. At the start of this year, during comic relief does fame academy, I ate no food for three months. I had to go on a special nutrient treatment that’s given to astronauts and babies when they are first born. It tastes like cheesy feet!

Is the disease hereditary?

C: they don’t think so. It hasn’t been found in my family yet. My children do have a high chance of getting it, but hopefully they won’t.

Tell us about your children…

D: Olivia’s eight going on 17! Talia is 22 months. Olivia’s name means ‘peace’ and Talia means ‘overflowing with exuberance’. However we think we got them round the wrong way! Talia is the most chilled child ever, whereas Olivia gets excited about everything.

Why is there such a big difference in age?

C: I don’t know why we left such a big gap. We got married in 1988 and we kept putting off having children every year. I think we didn’t want to risk spoiling things. We didn’t want to add any new ingredients. And we were just so busy doing things.

So do the two of you have any plans for another child?

C: We may have another one. I’m 37 now and David’s 46, so if it does happen it will be quite soon.