Roman Kemp has insisted his “genuine” bond with his dad Martin Kemp is the same on screen as it is off. He shared: "People who watch us on Celebrity Gogglebox often ask, 'Are you really like that?' Yes! We are mates first."
Martin agrees bond is unchanged
Martin agreed, describing their bond as unchanged off screen and saying he still loves simply “hanging out” with his son. Reflecting on their latest travelogue project, he called the programme’s premise “lovely”.
Family life has its ups and downs, and sometimes you feel you know each other so well that there's nothing left to learn. Martin has said he feels that way about his son, The One Show presenter Roman, claiming he knows him "inside out" as he reflected on the pair’s father-son time during their recent trip to Ireland.
Time together is 'precious'
Yet for Martin, that doesn’t take anything away from the joy of spending time with your children. In fact, he says the opportunity is "precious", especially as it's becoming rarer. His remarks came as they prepare to release a new Channel 4 show, Martin and Roman's Irish Road Trip.
It seems the pair also shared some playful banter on their travels, with Roman suggesting they weren't sure if it was about Ireland or "taking the mick out of each other".
Martin: 'I know Roman inside out'
He told Heat Magazine: "I don't think I learnt anything new about Ro. I know Roman inside out, so it was just lovely to have some time on our own."
"Usually when I see Ro, we are in a work or a family situation - we don't really get much time when it's just us one-on-one. This gave us time to laugh together, get on each other's nerves and discover things with each other."
"It was a proper boys' trip - we had a lot of fun."
Roman on the 'odd' side of having a famous dad
Away from the Ireland trip, Roman has also spoken about the stranger side of having a famous dad, admitting one aspect of being Martin Kemp’s son felt "odd" and "not normal".
He made the remarks while looking back on Martin’s time in EastEnders as Steve Owen, a role he held from 1998 to 2002.
Steve Owen's infamous storyline
Steve's storyline included one of the soap’s most talked-about scenes: on the launch night of his Walford club, E20, a row with ex Saskia Duncan escalated into a struggle. Steve hit her with an ashtray in self-defence, and she later died.
During The Beth Mead Show, Roman was challenged to identify the character his father struck in the soap. He responded accurately, saying: "Well, no, because you've gone down roots that like, to be fair, because of the popular culture, in it, I only know that because other people were so on it."
He added: "Like, and I remember growing up and people being like, 'Your dad's a murderer'. I was like, 'Well, he's not'. But, you know...", when asked whether he had questioned his father about the storylines.
Roman: 'I've seen my dad die in five different ways'
Roman went on to say: "Well, it was an odd thing, though, because I've seen my dad die in like five different ways, which isn't a normal thing for anyone."
He elaborated that these included "decapitation" and witnessing his head being "squished into a million pieces", before quipping: "It's not normal for a child to see that."
Catch Martin and Roman's Irish Road Trip on Channel 4 on August 11, from 8pm.
