Lorraine Kelly

Presenter, author and national treasure Lorraine Kelly joins Vernon Kay to choose ten songs that have soundtracked her life, as she publishes her latest novel, The Island Secret.

She tells Vernon about her childhood as the daughter of a TV engineer, then her early career as a journalist in Scotland and the highs and lows of the following decades, including having her contract ended whilst on maternity leave from GMTV. Her musical choices include a Matt Monro song dedicated to her dad, remembering interviewing George Michael, trekking through Kenya with Craig David and many more.

Lorraine was born in 1959 and grew up in Glasgow before moving to East Kilbride. Her father was a TV engineer and she showed an interest in news and television from a young age, joining East Kilbride News aged just 17. In the 80s she worked at BBC Scotland, then TV-am before moving to London in 1989 to present Good Morning Britain. Since 2010 she has hosted the show Lorraine, and has recieved numerous awards and honours for her work in broadcasting and charity - including a CBE in 2020 and a special Bafta Award for her contribution to television in 2024. This month she is publishing her second novel, The Island Secret, a sequel to The Island Swimmer which was released in 2024.

Listen to Tracks Of My Years on BBC Sounds, and watch Vernon's conversations on BBC iPlayer and Radio 2's YouTube channel, just search for 'Tracks Of My Years'.

A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 2.