Getting The Masked Singer job has nothing to do with the fact I’m gay

If you haven’t heard of Harriet Rose yet, then it’s probably time you got clued up because she is on the right path to become the next big TV presenter.

Harriet’s determination to create fun out of any scenario, and her ability to have everyone from Stormzy to Dakota Johnson descend into fits of giggles with her line of questioning, has meant she’s propelled herself up the ranks.

She’s gone from recording interviews with her musician mates on an iPad and self-posting to securing a job with ITV. Harriet, 35, is commencing what is arguably, the biggest job of her career so far on The Masked Singer UK’s first spin-off show After Mask.

After their identity has been revealed on the main show, the unveiled stars will be interviewed by Harriet for the digital series.

It’s not just the hard work that helped her reach this point that Harriet is proud of, but also the chance to be important representation.

While speaking with Metro about being one of the few gay women working as a host for a mainstream channel, Harriet said: ‘Honestly, I’m so privileged that I can be gay in straight media and be doing massive shows.

‘I’m so honored to have been asked, and it’s got nothing to do with the fact that I’m gay, but it just so happens that I can be the representation that 10 years ago, I would have desperately loved to see.’

Although Harriet, who describes herself as a femme lesbian, recalls seeing icons such as Sue Perkins, she didn’t feel that they fully represented her. It wasn’t until Harriet was 23 that she came out as gay, and she wonders if seeing herself reflected on TV could have had a big impact.

‘I literally had the feelings and didn’t register that they were same sex attraction,’ she recalled of her younger self.

‘I had a boyfriend who I adored, and as everybody knows, sexuality is fluid, but when I got on the journey, I came to realise I was a lesbian. I wonder if it would have been a quicker journey if I’d have seen someone like me.’

So understandably, Harriet prioritises being what she couldn’t see (or hear) for others. Harriet thinks often about her potential listeners on Kiss Radio, where she presents the Breakfast show each weekday with Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely. She hopes that parents of children who are part of the LGBTQ+ community will sometimes be tuning in and comprehend how normal it is.

This is part of the reason, you’ll often hear Harriet talk about her sexual identity while doing her job. It’s more often than not presented in a funny way, but there is a ‘darker side’ to why she does it.

‘There’s kind of a running joke that my friends will say “How long does it take Harriet to mention being a lesbian?”

‘It’s obviously silly and funny, and honestly, I love talking about it… I could talk about it till the cows come home. But the main reason is because people are still persecuted for it. People less privileged than me are unable to have a voice, and so therefore I will use my voice and I will shout it from the rooftops for as long as I live.

‘Until people are not being called slurs in the street, until people are not being assaulted, abused and killed, we have to keep fighting and pushing, especially right now for trans people, because they are the most in danger and we need to do everything we can to protect them.’

To reach this point, where she can be a voice has been around ten years in the making. Rather than resent the many hours, random jobs to get by (florist, London Dungeons actor, and music manage are all on her CV), and even missing out on loved ones’ weddings, she is grateful for each sacrifice. She points out that having a sort of slow burn career works out better in the long run, as now Harriet feels like she can handle anything.

Having this positive perspective and ‘relentless belief’ doesn’t mean there hasn’t been big wobbles. Just over one year ago, Harriet considered quitting her dream after being rejected from a huge job, which she diplomatically does not name.

‘I was devastated. I genuinely contemplated not doing this anymore, because I’m very dramatic. Then I remember sitting with my therapist, and they said “I think you’ve just forgotten to be grateful”. They was right. It was amazing to even be considered so I grieved for the job that I didn’t get and moved on,’ she recalled.

Her fans are so glad she did because Harriet possesses a special skill that helps her disarm A-List interviewees that have included Dwayne Johnson, Charlie XCX, and Jenna Ortega – she doesn’t get starstruck (aside from when she met the late Cilla Black while working a runner on Keith Lemon’s Through the Keyhole), and views everyone as the same.

‘When I was younger, I used to get in trouble all the time as I spoke to adults the same way I speak to kids. I had no gauge of authority. I still speak to my niece the same way I’ll talk to Angelina Jolie.

‘I used to think “Oh my god, I’m so weird.” When I grew up I realised it was my personality and my ADHD.’

Further explaining why it helps, she added: ‘My brain goes faster than my body. My girlfriend finds it infuriating, but in an interview situation, it really plays in my favour.

‘I’m just having a silly sausage time,’ she summarised.

Although, Harriet is now having to engage her mind in a different way to ensure she does keep TV’s biggest secrets – who is inside the costumes on Masked Singer. Harriet has been privy to all the answers for the pre-recorded episodes coming in January, and naturally, is doing everything to uphold the beauty of the show.

To ensure she’s not the one to let anything slip, Harriet purposely slows down her pace of speaking when the subject comes up.

‘I am more calculated because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone,’ she stated.

With plans to release her own documentary on queerness, and a possible Netflix TV show (Harriet studied drama at college, and her girlfriend is predicting a big role for her on the streamer), Harriet may soon need to borrow the costumes to do her grocery shop undisturbed.

After Mask will be available on ITVX and YouTube directly after the main show, which begins airing on January 4 at 7pm.

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