Originally from Sheffield, the Reverend Kate Bottley is a priest in north Nottinghamshire. She is passionate about bringing stories of faith and belief to the widest audience possible.
As a Celebrity Masterchef semi-finalist and previous Greenbelt Trustee, Kate has agreed to return to the Table and cook up a storm for us.
Kate was not raised in a church-going family, and only started going to church because she fancied the local vicar’s son. They have been married since 1998 and have two children.
In 2012 Kate was part of a wedding flashmob video which went viral with over 7 million hits on YouTube. This led to her being approached by Channel 4’s BAFTA and NTA winning series Gogglebox.
Kate presents the revamped and refreshed Good Morning Sunday show on BBC Radio 2 with Jason Mohammed. The show features religious as well as ethical and spiritual issues, discussion, guest interviews and music. Kate has already appeared on BBC Radio 2 in her role as a presenter on The Sunday Hour, as a contributor on Saturday Breakfast with Dermot O’Leary and as a contributor to Pause for Thought on Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show, for which she won a Jerusalem Award. She has also fronted the documentary Believing in Beauty (BBC Radio 2).
Kate’s presenting work includes Alone With the In-Laws (Studio Lambert/BBC 2), In The Footsteps of Judas, a flagship Easter documentary for BBC 1 and is a regular presenter on Songs of Praise (BBC 1). She has also made guest appearances on Celebrity MasterChef, Hairy Bikers Cracking Christmas, The One Show, Rip Off Britain (BBC 1) and 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4). In 2017, Kate journeyed to Camino de Santiago for The Pilgrimage.
Kate has written for a variety of newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, The Independent, Saga Magazine and the Radio Times. She is currently taking a break from full-time parish ministry, but will continue to take church services and officiate at weddings and funerals as part of a wider remit which will include writing and broadcasting projects.
Kate loves telly and dancing. Her karaoke songs for choice are 9 to 5 or Ice, Ice Baby. She is owned by a 7 year old retired racing greyhound called Buster.
Kate went to her first Greenbelt festival in 1991 and has been a regular ever since. She loves the Jesus Arms, the Tiny Tea Tent and those ‘stumble across moments’ that you just can’t plan for. Kate says ‘Greenbelt for me is like coming home. I take the time away from work as a retreat which resources me for my faith in the year ahead. I’ve found the Divine more times than I can recall while chatting to a stranger in the Jesus Arms.’