It’s an age-old adage: don’t mix business with pleasure. For some married couples, however, it turns out not to be such a bad idea. One such duo is JLS singer Marvin Humes, 39, and former The Saturdays star Rochelle, 35, who have been married since 2012 and have co-hosted BBC1’s The Hit List – now in its seventh series – since 2019. The couple have three children at home – Alaia, ten, Valentina, six, and Blake, three – their own individual busy work schedules, and they’ve just started renovations on their house, and yet they still enjoy working together.
Save for a few tense conversations about the perfect roast potatoes, this pair seems to have struck the perfect work/life balance. Their advice? “Find someone who does exactly the same thing that you do, so there are no arguments,” offers Marvin. We caught up with the couple and co-hosts to hear about the new series, their secret to a successful relationship, and why their kids assume they’re mates with Taylor Swift…
What’s it like working together?
Marvin: I think for us it’s just normal. It doesn’t feel like work because we’re doing a show we love and that we’re big fans of and, of course, we know each other so well and we’ve done other shows together. So, it just feels natural.
Rochelle: It’s our background ultimately, you know? We’re hosting a show based around music, so it’s kind of the perfect fit.
Does it ever get annoying?
M: Do you know what? No. We actually get to spend some time together for a solid five days a week. It’s a nice little trip away for us – not quite a holiday, but it’s definitely nice.
R**:** And we’re still married!
How do you feel about the show going into its seventh series?
R: The fact we’re on series seven is just amazing. It feels like we’ve been doing it forever, but at the same time, it still feels so fresh, which is incredible. We love it. We say it all the time, but this is a show we’d be watching if we weren’t hosting, so it’s a bit of a pinch -me moment.
Are there any standout contestants this series?
M: I think the biggest standout on the celeb show is Jedward. In their words, they were "jepic". They really surprised me. I don’t know why I assumed they’d be good at pop and not loads more, but they have really diverse music taste. They did very well.
R: It was a long record that day – we ran slightly over because they’ve got a lot of stories to tell, but we didn’t want to stop them.
Do you have any couple signals if something is going wrong or one of you is flagging?
M: [Glances at Rochelle.] I get an elbow to the ribs.
R: Silence. Sometimes, we’ll be so in the flow that we’ll be like “Welcome to The Hit List. We’ve got Emma and Manchester from…” and Marv knows to just take over.
M: We’re well in sync, put it that way.
Is that one of your secrets to a successful relationship?
R: We have to communicate with eye contact. We have three kids, and there’s a lot we can’t say in front of them.
M: We’re very lucky that we understand each other and we’re very supportive, so that’s the secret. Find someone who does exactly the same thing that you do, so there are no arguments.
What about at home – surely you bicker about some things?
M: For me, bickering is usually on a Sunday when I’m doing the roast potatoes, and she tries to get involved to make them crispy. And I’m like, “Babe, I’ve got this, I’m the one doing the roast here.”
R: If you believe that, you’ll believe anything. I’m waiting for the day you cook a roast dinner.
What’s on the TV when you’re at home?
R: This is the first year I’ve managed to convince Marv to watch Love Island. He’s never watched it, even when my sister [Sophie Piper] was on it, but that’s probably more of a reason why he didn’t because it was weird for him, wasn’t it? So, this year I’ve been educating him. I’m like, “This is Casa Amor…”
M: We like easy watching like Gogglebox – we’re obsessed with that. We love a bit of First Dates, Come Dine With Me, all stuff like that. We also love a drama like Happy Valley.
Marvin, we loved watching you in the jungle last year. Would you do any other reality shows?
M: I always said if I was going to do one of those types of shows, the only one I would do is I’m A Celeb. I was desperate to do it and that was the first time I’d been asked. Bizarrely, I had a six-week window I never usually have, but I’ve had my fix.
R: Yeah, and via you, I’ve had my fix.
No dancing then?
R: You don’t want to see my dancing! I did a Christmas charity special for Strictly once and my stomach was in my mouth hearing my name, like, “Dancing the cha cha cha…” When you’re in the industry, people think, “Oh, you must be great at that – you’ve been in a girl band.” But we used to pose with our hand on our hip and bop around a bit. This is a whole different thing.
Are your kids aware that you’re famous?
M: It was nice the other day, the kids came to watch me and the [JLS] boys. I think, for the first time, my son got to see what I do for work. He just thinks I’m a DJ, but it sort of clicked on that day.
R: He obviously knows everyone from our house, and he’s like, “Oh, Uncle Aston does Daddy’s work, too.” He’s slowly piecing it all together.
M: And I deliberately show Blake videos of The Saturdays.
You must have been able to introduce them to some of their music idols over the years…
R: We’re quite lucky because we’ve been able to take them to gigs that they love. It’s funny, because I took the girls to watch Taylor Swift and they’re so used to parking backstage, so they were like, “Why are we walking through here?” They were like, “Do you think we’ll say hello to Taylor?” I’m like, “Mummy doesn’t know Taylor!”
Iconic. Do they share your love of music?
R: They love it. They love dancing.
M: They’re into Wonka and the Matilda musical at the minute. They’re always making up dances.
You must throw great parties at your house…
M: My job is to provide the music and the drinks.
R: I’ll cook this massive dinner and it’ll be like, “Oh, the music’s good, Marv.” He’s the music man and the drinks man. If we do any sort of gathering or party, he’s like, “We need to sort a DJ.”
It helps to know your music, hosting a show like The Hit List…
M: Yeah, but there are a couple of blind spots. Probably like niche metal or something like that. But I’ve always been a huge fan of music. I used to collect the Now albums when I was a kid and I’ve always had a broad taste. But you can catch me out, for sure.
How do you think you’d do as contestants?
M: I’d love to go on. Obviously, we don’t want to lose a job, but we play it all the time at home. We’ve got buzzers and everything.
R: Marv is unflappable under pressure. That bit wouldn’t bother you, but I’d be the worst teammate. I think I’d just get a bit hysterical with it all. That’s why I really try to relate to the contestants, because I’m like, “Don’t let it get the better of you.” [Turns to Marvin.] We’d be great if I wore a muzzle and you just did your thing.
Who would be your dream celebrity contestant?
M: Our dream contestant would be Sir Elton John. I keep banging on the door and hoping he hears.
R: Maybe if we tell him he gets to stay at the Crown Plaza in Glasgow, it might swing it for him.
M: He’s got his finger on the pulse with all new music. I met him a couple of times and I’m so impressed by how much he knows. I also think Rylan would be incredible.
You must have a pretty good contact book…
R: Yeah, we have had loads of friends on, haven’t we?
M: We’ve had loads of people we’ve wanted to have on. We love it when radio DJs like Scott Mills and Roman Kemp come on. And Chris Moyles and people like that. They’ve probably got the advantage because they’re constantly playing music every day and they know the titles and the artists, as well.
Why do you think viewers love the show?
M: I think it’s such a family show. Saturday night, you can’t get better than that. It’s usually on before Strictly or Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel. It’s one where the whole family can get involved.
R: Everyone loves that earworm thing where you can’t remember the name of the song and it becomes a little bit addictive.
If you could host another show together, what would it be?
M: It’s not hosting, but we love Gogglebox. We love the celeb one and the normal one.
R: But the things we say when we’re actually watching it…
Would you get cancelled?
R: I wouldn’t say that!
Are you quite different when you’re at home?
R: I’ll be honest, the disparity between the two is quite big. We’re either out and about doing Saturday night telly, or when the front door is shut, we’re in pyjamas running around after three kids. Everyone thinks things seem so glamorous, but that’s just what the eye sees. We’re literally Mum and Dad.
M: Day-to-day, it’s, “Did you put the bins out?”; “I’m on tour”; “Well, remember to put the bins out.”
The Hit List returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Saturday at 6pm