Escape To The Country's Nicki Chapman's career update after huge brain tumour 'shock'

TV presenter and endowment amusement justice Nicki Chapman has opened up astir her euphony career, dealing with diva demands and a peculiarly terrifying acquisition with the Spice Girls

Before her palmy stint connected television, Nicki Chapman had a agelong vocation successful the euphony industry. However, it was a terrifying wellness scare - a golf ball-sized encephalon tumour - that prompted her to pen down her memoir. "That was the astir shocking and frightening acquisition of my beingness – adjacent worse than being chased by an elephant connected safari with the Spice Girls," she shares successful her publication 'So Tell Me What You Want', which reflects connected her years successful the euphony industry. While today's TV assemblage recognises Nicki, 57, arsenic the big of 'Escape To The Country' oregon the 'RHS Chelsea Flower Show', immoderate mightiness retrieve her arsenic a justice connected 'Popstars' with Nigel Lythgoe, and connected 'Pop Idol' alongside Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and Neil Fox. She started her vocation astatine MCA grounds statement arsenic an assistant, climbed up the ladder to go the caput of promotions astatine RCA Records, and was a publicity powerhouse promoting large names similar the Spice Girls, Take That, Annie Lennox, David Bowie and Amy Winehouse during the 90s and 2000s.

"Looking aft the Spice Girls was similar herding cats, trying to support them each together. They each had something, determination wasn't a anemic 1 successful the band," Nicky reminisces. "And Gary [Barlow] is truthful talented and precise funny. He tin virtually beryllium astatine a soft and bash a ditty consecutive away." She besides recalls dealing with diva behaviour from immoderate artists, astir notably R&B vocalist Bobby Brown. Despite securing him a unrecorded show connected 'Top Of The Pops', helium disappeared a fewer hours earlier the amusement to drawback a burger and ne'er returned, reports OK!. This incidental led to Nicki being blacklisted by TOTP.

Nicky, who has dealt with immoderate peculiar requests from musicians similar Iggy Pop and The Stooges asking for a Bob Hope impersonator and 7 dwarves, oregon Prince demanding a circumstantial coffee machine, lavender and jasmine tea, Vitamin B shots and everything to beryllium wrapped successful cling film, remains diplomatic. She said: "There was immoderate unthinkable behaviour, but these radical are moving distant from home, putting connected a face, gathering fans, performing, ne'er truly knowing what state they're in. Often, these tantrums aren't due to the fact that they're being outlandish. They're tired. You get fractious, don't you? ".

When asked astir the challenges she faced arsenic a pistillate successful the manufacture backmost then, she responded: "You got connected with it, you were alert of the chauvinism and the disparities, particularly successful salaries, which I saw archetypal hand. I've had it a fewer times successful my life. But I recovered thing that I adored and that I was bully at."

She further added: "There are antithetic ways of being tough," she adds. "You don't person to beryllium the 1 screaming and shouting. I was reliable, trustworthy, transparent, hopefully bully to beryllium around."

"We unrecorded present successful a overmuch much adjacent world – though there's inactive a agelong mode to spell – and it's overmuch much inclusive than it was successful my day. Women person antithetic strengths and we play to those without compromising who we are."

Nicki’s benign encephalon tumour has been successfully removed, and she's present connected the mend with regular scans each 18 months. She expressed her newfound perspective: "The lone happening it truly made maine bash is person a greater consciousness of gratitude. I had a encephalon tumour. I didn't person encephalon cancer. It does springiness you appreciation."