Random 19 - Alice Plunkett

TV presenter Alice Plunkett takes on the Random 19 questions

North Dorset resident Alice Plunkett is one of the leading horseracing presenters for ITV. She is a former eventer and National Hunt jockey herself – beginning with local point to points which led to her riding in the 1993 Fox Hunters’ Chase at Aintree. She was just 19 and riding Bold King’s Hussar, bred by her grandfather. It was only her fifth ride on a racecourse and she finished fourteenth. Alice went on to ride winners on the flat, over hurdles and fences. Switching to eventing, she rode at Badminton Horse Trials and represented Great Britain as part of the Under 21s team at the European Three Day Event Championships. Alice is the only woman to have ridden at both Badminton Horse Trials and over the Grand National course at Aintree. Her broadcasting career began when she became a runner on Festival Radio; she moved on to having her own show there, at The Derby and Royal Ascot. Following Royal Ascot she was asked to do a screen test for the Racing Channel, where she continued to present until it closed. Alice was on the main Channel 4 Racing team from 2001 to 2016 and then moved to ITV when they took over racing coverage in 2017 – she soon became one of the lead presenters for National Hunt Racing coverage. Alice has also been the Radio 5 Live equestrian correspondent and has hosted equestrian events for Eurosport, Sky Sports and Horse and Country. She has also presented two series of the equestrian-interest show Horse Tails on Animal Planet. Alice is married to top eventer William Fox-Pitt, and they have four children.

1. What’s your relationship with Dorset?

I’ve lived here for 20 years! I’m a partner in a farm, and involved in a leading equestrian yard just outside Sturminster Newton.

2. What was the last song you sang out loud in your car?

Ed Sheeran’s The Shape of You. Though to be fair, singing is a stretch. Wailing would be better.

3. The last film you watched?

Oh, it was the latest Marvel movie in Dorch with the boys ... Black something … (That’ll be Black Adam - Ed) (And it’s the DC Universe - Sub Ed). I nearly always get dragged to see them by 15 and 16 year-old boys and nearly always end up thoroughly enjoying myself!

4. It’s Friday night – you have the house to yourself, and no work is allowed. What are you going to do?

I am calling the girls round to drink vodka! Black Cow vodka, obviously.

5. What is your comfort meal?

Roast chicken. With cheesy leeks, roast potatoes, onion gravy and as many different veg as I can squeeze onto the plate. Actually, the Sunday roast at the White Horse in Hinton St Mary is amazing – I’ll happily go there for my roast chicken.

6. What would you like to tell 15 year-old you?

Try to put some structure into your life. And write lists!

7. The best crisps flavour?

Smoky bacon

8. And the best biscuit for dunking?

Digestives!

9. What book did you read recently that stayed with you?

The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Valk. Just so so good – it’s about trauma, and the effect it has on our adult lives and bodies. It’s a fascinating, insightful read that has stayed with me.

10. What’s your secret superpower?

Relentless positive energy!

11. Your most annoying trait?

I am a liability. I have an infuriating deep-seated belief that everything is possible. Which means I try and do far too much … In my defence I do get loads done, but I also end up dropping a lot of balls in the process.

12. What in life is frankly a mystery to you?

Tidiness …

13. What shop can you not pass without going in?

Ooohhhh … Hambledon Gallery in Blandford. Caroline Nicholls in Sherborne. Gallery One in Sturminster Newton. All three are simply amazing shops – more so when you consider they’re all in such a small, sparsely-populated rural area.

14. Tell us about one of the best evenings you’ve ever had?

It was in Tokyo in 2019. William was asked to ride in the Olympic test event so we took our boys out on an adventure. We then had the most surreal night out in Shibuya city in Tokyo – it was like the movie Lost in Translation!

15. Chip Shop Chips or Home Baked Cake?

CHIPS! No, I do also visit At The Races and Sporting Life ... Oh, and Amazon. That counts!

17. Your favourite quote?

Winston Churchill: “No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle.” Simply because it is so true.

18. What was the last gift you either gave, or received?

I gave a potion-making kit to my niece. Oh, and I gave my son tickets to see comedian Jack Whitehall at the BIC for his 16th birthday. He was VERY excited – I actually got the most positive teenager reaction I’ve ever achieved, there were real words, not grunts!

16. Your top three most-visited websites?

Racing Post er... Racing Post... and Racing Post!

19. You have the power to pass one law tomorrow, uncontested. What would you do?

Free school meals for ALL children.