kids

Meet Mr Maker - a rock star to people under three-feet tall.

Imagine a world where crafting scissors are always to hand, there’s a never-ending supply of sticky-back plastic and pipe-cleaners come colour-coded in a rainbow of endless choice.

Mr Maker lives like that. If you are saying WHO? Then this podcast is not for you. If you are saying, “Yaaaasssss – Mr Maker, please may I touch your Doodle Drawers?” you are in the right place.

Phil Gallagher is now 39, and has been Mister Maker for almost 10 years. His show is shown in 100 countries around the world As he tells me in this delightful trans-continent chat, he had always wanted to be a children’s TV presenter, and he could not believe his luck when he landed the gig.

If you have small kids of a certain age, then Mister Maker is the wallpaper in your home, much of the time and your kids, like mine, are probably often nagging you to “Make” things with them. Possibly in a minute.

Here’s my chat with Mister Maker, in a short bonus episode of This Glorious Mess:

So meet the man behind your child’s obsession, and learn, among other things, that yes, he really can make things in a minute. But not the first time around.

 

This is what Phil looks like out of costume....

Stuff you need to know about Mister Maker.

  • In the Mister Maker audition, Phil had to make exciting things out of toilet rolls. "They tested us on so many things. Presenting, arts and crafts and live presenting,' he says. "There were so many auditions."
  • He practices Minute Make Time about a million times. "I practice a lot. It's genuinely the most nerve-wracking part of the show for me."
  • It's always parents, not kids, who recognise him in the street. "Children expect Mister Maker to be wearing his spotty waistcoat, but it's usually parents who spot me in my football shirt and sunglasses."
  • He has to make all his family and friends home-made cards, like it or not. "They also expect that I make cakes."

Look, there's a downside to everything.

Watch him in action here...

For more episodes of This Glorious Mess, subscribe to the show in iTunes, find it on the Mamamia Podcast app, or download it on your podcast app of choice.