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Martin and Roman Kemp talk their big Irish Road Trip – and why scares almost led to Roman climbing into his dad’s bed
Actor and musician Martin Kemp and his son Roman circumnavigate Ireland together in search of spectacle, spectres and plenty of banter in new TV mini-series.
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- Ed Grenby
Published: Monday, 3 August 2026 at 5:00 pm
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This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
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“Apologies for my dad,” sighs Roman Kemp, rolling his eyes as his father Martin struggles with Zoom. That’s pretty much the tone of the pair’s new series, too, with ex-Spandau Ballet and EastEnders star Martin, and One Show presenter Roman, bonding and bickering on a father-and-son road trip round the island of Ireland.
So why would anyone want to be stuck in a car with their dad or grown-up son?
Roman: It was my dad’s idea. I shoot my [BBC One] quiz The Finish Line in Belfast, but I only ever see the studio and the hotel. He used to live in Dublin and is always talking about how beautiful the country is, and he’s also into the spooky mythology out there.
Martin: I love all those stories and the way the Irish hand them down from generation to generation. I like parking my common sense for a while and opening myself up to the idea that there’s this Abhartach, an ancient Irish vampire hanging underneath a rock in someone’s back garden. So we went to County Derry to see that.
Is this why it was a boys-only trip? Did Shirlie [Martin’s wife, and former chart-topper with Pepsi and Shirlie] and Harley Moon [their daughter] have more sense?
Martin: Shirlie’s in the show – organising me from home, on the phone like the guy in Charlie’s Angels.
Roman: Listen, the second my mum has the opportunity to say “You take Dad for a couple of weeks,” she’s doing it. I was calling her privately, saying “How do you do this?”, and she’s like, “Hahaha! Enjoy!” Harley was already sick of me as we spent seven weeks together in Central America for Race across the World. [The pair won in 2025.]
Martin: Yeah, with you freaking out the whole time! But no, it’s true, I grew up in a band with a tour manager who sorts everything for you: “There’s your passport, there’s your per diems…” – you’re looked after like a baby.
Siblings Roman and Harley Moon on Celebrity Race Across the World. BBC/Studio Lambert
Roman wouldn’t let you drive, Martin?
Roman: Don’t you believe it! He says he wants to drive, then you get to the car and he’s already in the passenger seat, so I’m like, “Oh, it’s me doing all the driving then?” But some of the drives were unbelievable. The roads along the Cork coast were incredible. We saw dolpins as we were driving past.
Martin: It’s so rugged and beautiful, and every piece of land has a story. We stopped off to do some kayaking in Glandore, west of Cork, where Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees, is said to make a terrible noise through the waves to foretell death – but it was breathtakingly gorgeous.
You’re pretty sceptical about all the supernatural stuff, though, Roman?
Roman: It was the classic “son giving it the big ‘whatever’ ” thing. We stayed a night at the Ballygally Castle Hotel in County Antrim, and they told us it was haunted, and I was like, “Yeah yeah.” And then when the door closed, I didn’t switch off one light in my room all night – I lay there in my clothes, and didn’t sleep a wink. I was that close to creeping into dad’s bed with him.
Martin: I was out like a light. It was a bit spooky, though, because the castle has a story of a girl who lost her kids and was thrown out the window, and they’ve kept the room as it was.
You must have hated the tombs you visited then?
Martin: They were amazing. We went to this neolithic burial site called Four Knocks. You can run your hands over carvings that are 5,000 years old but look like they were made yesterday.
Roman: It was hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck stuff. We saw tombs and stone circles older than the Pyramids or Stonehenge, and I still don’t understand how those seven-foot standing stones got there. People say they were moved by vibration or witchcraft, and I’m looking at them, thinking maybe…
Are you sure you weren’t having your leg pulled?
Martin: The Irish do love a yarn. We walked into a pub one night, and they were all taking it in turns to get up and tell a story. I got up and told one about being on tour with Spandau – you’ll have to watch the show to hear it, but it ends up with me wearing no clothes. I don’t think it went down very well, but they laughed politely.
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Martin and Roman's Irish Road Trip airs on Tuesday 4 August at 8pm on C4.
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Authors
Ed GrenbyAssociate Editor, Radio Times
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