Gok Wan, style guru and makeover maestro, gives Jane McGowan the bare facts about his new one-man show on its way to Richmond Theatre
Trevor Leighton
Despite his celebrity standing and national treasure status, Gok Wan just can’t seem to escape people who get a kick out of tormenting him. After being bombarded with homophobic abuse at Glasgow Airport recently, the fashion guru issued a response telling “the lads” just what he thought of their behaviour, saying in a statement: “I don’t turn around and answer you because you are stupid… I don’t even look at you because you are not worth my face… Bon voyage d*******s!”
And while being on the receiving end is something the 43-year-old has had to cope with throughout his life – from being branded “fat”, “greedy” and “queer” by his peers at school to this latest incident – the star acknowledges that, although more people are talking about bullying, the world in which young people have to live today is very tough.
“Oh, it’s so awful now!” he exclaims. “You can no longer shut the door on bullying. It’s 24 hours a day, you can no longer police it. In my day, at least you could leave it all behind at school, but now it’s impossible because of the constant communication. If I were a teenager now and I was going through what I went through, I dread to think what kind of person I would have turned out to be.”
In fact his new show, Gok Wan – Naked and Baring All, is testament to how far Gok has come, addressing not only his stellar fashion and television career, but his hang-ups too.
“It’s the story of my life, but told in a slightly bizarre way,” he says mysteriously. “It is autobiographical but seen through the audience’s eyes. We deal with lots of different things: body image, of course, as that’s what I’m known for; relationships with the family – people know that I talk about mine all the time; and also celebrity, and how ridiculous and bonkers that whole world is. But it’s done in a fun way with audience participation.”
Gok Wan first burst into the nation’s consciousness with the 2006 Channel 4 show How to Look Good Naked. An instant hit, the programme – which ran for six series – followed Gok as he made over a member of the public by showing her how to dress to suit and celebrate her shape, rather than embrace an unpalatable regimen of diet and fitness. It was a breath of fresh air for a nation of women struggling to live up to the media’s standard portrayal of female perfection.
“That was an incredible show and I was just so lucky to land the job,” Gok admits. “It came at the right time and became a place where women could talk openly about themselves. It was really empowering. But the success had little to do with me. In fact, I became another focus for the discussion, as I was having as much therapy for my own body issues and what I was going through as the women I was working with.”
Back then it may have been hard to believe that this flamboyant, larger-than-life character could be in need of therapy. And yet, with the same trademark honesty he employed on the show, Gok quickly opened up to the nation about his life.
“We could all discuss things with each other in safety,” he reflects. “We were all going on the journey together and that had never been done on TV before.”
One of three children, Gok was born in Leicester to an English mother, Myra, and Chinese father John. Times were sometimes hard for the Wans and the children were all expected to help out in the family restaurant.
No matter how hard the financial situation, however, Gok’s home was a refuge from the onslaught of abuse from his classmates. He was taunted relentlessly, basically just for standing out. Not only was he mixed race and gay, but by the time he was 16 he was 6ft 2” and weighed nearly 20 stone.
“My only salvation as a teenager was my family. I basically hid at home as that was where I was safe,” he says.
After his turbulent school days, Gok found solace in acting, winning a place at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Although he enjoyed his new curriculum, however, he found himself more drawn to the behind-the-scenes world of costume and make-up.
After landing a job as a hair and make-up stylist for The Sunday Times, he moved into fashion, quickly gaining a reputation for himself as a stylist to the stars. His early client base included Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Bryan Ferry and Damian Lewis. His course as a fashionista was set.
But has he ever had any regrets about the road not travelled?
“In my 30s I did feel a bit of ‘What if?’,” he admits. “What if I’d stuck at it – would I have been really happy as an actor? And maybe part of me thought I would return to it at some point.
“But I have put that to bed and get the same fulfilment that I would have got from acting from the job that I do now. I have a skill set that I’ve honed by working at it. And actually, when I’m presenting, I do perform. For the stage show, even though I am going on as myself, some of the disciplines of acting are in there. So I have been lucky that, in the end, I’ve managed to bring the two things together.”
Gok is still a fan of fashion and his range of clothing for Sainsbury’s – Gok Wan x TU – continues to sell like hotcakes: when his capsule collection was launched in 2012, an item was said to be sold every 24 seconds.
“I really love clothes, but most of all I love the makeovers; the sense of completion you get from them. I love the buzz, the trends and the forecasting. At the same time, however, it’s a job. I don’t walk down the street assessing what people are wearing. I am able to switch off.”
In his minimal spare time Gok, it comes as no surprise to discover, likes to party.
“I adore dancing and going to clubs or being in the pub with friends, and I love going to restaurants too. I’m terrible on my own. Actually, I’m sh*t in my own company,” he laughs.
“So if I have any downtime you can guarantee that I will be on the phone to friends, or cooking for people. The last thing I want to do is relax on the sofa – I can’t think of anything worse. To myself I am the most boring company.”
However, if his future career proves anything like as busy as his past, downtime is not something Gok will have to worry about. From his first appearance 11 years ago to his current role as style consultant on ITV1 daytime flagship, This Morning, Gok – by way of recipe books, cookery programmes and countless makeover shows – has lodged himself firmly in the nation’s heart.
And it’s all down, as he acknowledges, to How to Look Good Naked. Indeed, the story of how he landed that job takes up “the best part of the first half” of the forthcoming stage show – which is why, he says, he can’t talk about it. Well, perhaps just a little teaser.
“Basically, I blagged it and… no, I’m not saying any more,” he insists. “You will just have to come and see the show.”
Indeed I might.
- Gok Wan – Naked and Baring All is at Beck Theatre on Nov 9 and Richmond Theatre on Nov 13. For details and tickets visit: atgtickets.com
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