Loose Women’s Judi Love: A sense of humour is essential for parents

"And treat others how you hope to be treated. Young people are always on a journey and will make mistakes – it’s how you get through them [that matters].”

The born-and-bred Londoner – known for her stand-up shows and regular appearances on TV series Loose Women, The Last Leg and Celebrity Gogglebox – says her kids have taught her a lot, too.

“They definitely teach me resilience, and to live in the moment – oh, I love that about them,” reveals Love, who won Documentary of the Year at the 2023 Visionary Arts Awards in March for Channel 4’s Black, Female And Invisible.

“And my children, if I haven’t got a wig on or a weave on, no eyelashes and I’m wearing in-house clothes and no bra, they love me the same way, and that’s the most beautiful thing.

"They just see me as mummy first, before Judi Love, and it’s so grounding. And they’re expensive,” she adds with a laugh. “That’s what they’ve taught me!”

Love says keeping communication channels open with her children is key for her as a parent – particularly where the online world is concerned.

She has just teamed up with Ukie (the trade body for the UK video games industry) on their new ‘ParentPowerUps’ campaign to help families navigate concerns such as in-game interactions, spending and time limits.

“It’s still encouraging children to play video games, but in a safe way. We don’t want to take away the enjoyment,” says Love.

She likes that it focuses on having a two-way conversation as a family – making it feel like “an agreement” and “empowering” children to set healthy boundaries.

Love has previously talked about how “humour is healing” is her motto – helping her through some very hard times, including caring for her mother, who had dementia, before she passed away in 2009.

“Kids are funny [too],” she says with a laugh. “Sometimes they don’t mean to be, but God dam, children are just hilarious.

"And if you don’t laugh your way through parenting, then I don’t know…As long as you can try and have access to people that encourage and support you, if you can use a little bit of humour to get you through, then why not?”

Judi Love is set to talk at theatres in Leeds, Sheffield and York in September with her first official tour The One Like Judi Love.