The interview

We interviewed Supernanny Jo Frost about conquering America, her current series on Channel 4 and how success has affected her life.

You wouldn't expect a chirpy cockney child carer to succeed where the likes of Oasis and Robbie Williams have failed, but that's exactly what Jo Frost did when she conquered America. Our very own Supernanny, Jo has filmed a US version of the series which has aired to universal acclaim on network television stateside and her childcare book went straight to number one in the New York Times bestseller lists. Yet little more than a year ago, Frost was an unknown, just one of the dedicated army of nannies working with other people's children. The change is enough to make a girl's head spin, even when the head is on a pair of shoulders as sensible as Frost's.

'I knew Supernanny would touch a nerve when the UK series went out last July. I knew it would create some sort of interest, but for it to have done so well that it's reached America? No, I never anticipated anything like that. Definitely not – I'm a nanny, not a fortune teller. And then the reception in America was absolutely amazing. They've been really warm, really embraced me. They've taken it all to heart, it's just been astonishing.'

Frost is clearly not content to rest on her laurels, though. Her new series is being shown on Channel 4 from 17 August 2005. The concept of the each programme is simple: Frost spends three weeks with a family that is struggling with problematic behaviour from one or more children, at the end of which, the problem will be solved. It sounds too good to be true, yet the first series saw Frost literally revolutionise people's lives almost overnight, turning little horrors into angelic creatures in the process. It seems she has not lost her touch.

'I spoke to a family recently who had just seen their programme, and they said that 50 minutes did not even begin to represent how much their lives have changed. I thought that was fantastic, really overwhelming.'

That the accolade comes from one of her American families shows that her skills translate perfectly to the other side of the Atlantic. Did she notice a difference between approaches to child-rearing in Britain and the US?

'No, there's no big difference. Children are children and parents are parents the world over. What I did notice is that the Americans have a very high regard for the British nanny, and the standards and the etiquette that we have. That's very much respected over there, added to which, of course, they love the accent.'

They may love the accent, but Frost's connection with the American viewers went deeper than that. After all, you don't get a number one bestselling book on the back of having a British accent. It's an achievement of which she is justifiably proud.

'I didn't actually write it, I dictated it over the phone. I spent over 70 hours on the phone. They wanted the book to come out on a certain date, so we had a deadline. But I was busy filming the American programme, so I told them I couldn't physically write everything down and film. So they arranged for a lady to touch type it while I spoke. And then I got proofs back to correct and approve. I was very particular about what was written in the book. It wasn't a problem for me though – I can talk the hind legs off a donkey, so 70 hours on the phone was easy.'

She says that this series will broadly stick to the same formula as the first, but with certain significant differences.

'I'm dealing with older children as well as the younger ones this time. And families as a whole will be under the microscope a little bit more. It'll show the folds of family life. It's not just about a child's behaviour; there are certain elements in a family dynamic that can have an impact on the kids and the parents. We still deal with socially unacceptable behaviour, but we also deal with emotions in parents.

'For example, in this series, one mother has real problems with her anger, and we look at how that affects the kids. And we'll use new techniques in each programme, so that every one will be different and informative. You have to use different techniques a lot of the time anyway, for different issues and problems. And also different techniques apply to different ages. I wouldn't put a 12-year-old on the naughty step. And it's about more than age – all children are different, their temperaments are different. But if people want to see kids behaving badly, they certainly won't be disappointed. There's plenty more tantrums. I don't want to give too much away, but there are some real characters in the series.'

Does Jo find it difficult, being parachuted into homes, getting close to the family, and then leaving again after only three weeks?

'Well, I keep in touch with them. And each family is given my number, so they can always call me if they want to. But yeah, of course I miss them. You go through an emotional journey with each family. Each one touches you in their own way.'

Does she feel there are any cases where she has been unable to help?

'I think I can always help in some way. Whether it's a small change or a big change, immediate change or gradual change, it's change.'

Changing people's lives, enjoying an ever higher profile on both sides of the Atlantic, and with two hit TV series' and a bestselling book under her belt – it's been quite a year for Jo Frost. She says her life has changed in lots of ways, but more significantly, so have the lives of the families she has helped. And that, more than fame or fortune, is the legacy that Frost is intent on leaving behind.

'If I can help families through their difficulties, then I'm happy.'

Benjie Goodhart, March 2005

Top