Remel London: ‘As women especially we’re all trying to navigate this world. And as black women I don’t feel like it should be harder because we’re black’

WHEN Remel London was starting out in her broadcasting career she was rejected by agents who told her they only had space for one black woman on their books – but had up to 30 white women.

The former Highbury Fields School pupil, who has worked for radio stations Capital Xtra and BBC Radio 1 Xtra, was in King’s Cross last night (Thursday) to record a special edition of her ­podcast, The Mainstream, at the London Podcast festival.

Ms London, who comes from Holloway, said: “Going back to when I first got into the industry and when I tried to get an agent I was actually told some agents don’t like having more than one black girl on their roster, because they feel like there is not enough work for them. So they’d rather focus on one black girl than have more than one, but then you look at their roster, and there’s like 30 white women.”

Her podcast, which was filmed before a live audience, featured interviews with 1 Xtra DJ Joelah Noble and comedian and television presenter London Hughes, who hit out at sexism within comedy and TV in 2019 when she managed to get her childhood hero Whoopi Goldberg to appear on a travel show with her – and no channels would commission it.

Ms London was expected to discuss the issue of a lack of representation in the media with them.

Speaking before last night’s event, Ms London said: “My main angle is that we are celebrating black women that have made it in the industry and we need to talk about it more, because I feel like there is a stigma, that it’s one in, one out. And there’s a lot of competitiveness in the industry as well. And that is not because of us – it’s because they make you feel like ‘We’ve already got one black girl, why do we need another one?’”

Ms London argued that a prevailing stereotype in the industry of black women – “that we’re all angry” – needed to be addressed.

“I’m like, where did that come from?” she asked. “I think they think we’re going to say the wrong thing or be not relatable, and I’m like, we live here too. We live the same life as everyone else. We’re just black.”

The journalist has interviewed a host of music stars in her career including American rapper Common, Price Tag singer Jessie J, award-winning rapper Stormzy, Jackson Five’s Tito Jackson, and Read All About It singer Emeli Sandé in her career.

She added: “As women especially we’re all trying to navigate this world. And as black women I don’t feel like it should be harder because we’re black.”

The podcast star recently moved away from Islington after marrying last year, but her mother still lives in their family home in Holloway. She described how the first act she ever booked for one of her events was fellow Highbury Fields pupil and ­Mercury Prize-winning rapper Little Simz.

Having grown up a regular at the Sobell Sports Centre and training in track athletics in Finsbury Park – she was a 100m sprinter – she said she often got through to the final in racing competitions as the “fastest loser” – and that her sports training, along with family advice, had given her self-confidence.

“I always see it as ‘try your best – and always try something, even if it doesn’t work, you did it’,” she said.