Help: A Survival Guide For Life

Product Information

Hopkins is waiting for me in the lobby. I half expect her to be in disguise, such is the extent of the hate towards her, but she’s just sitting there, on her own. She’s wearing a bright pink dress – with her manicured hair she looks very Tory grande-dame – but otherwise is just as personable as our conversations on Skype. It’s easy to forget that she’s the person who writes the terrible things. If you’ve got interesting points to make about the devaluing of serious words like bullying and depression, why make them in a way that sounds like you’re ridiculing people who are suffering?” I ask. “High and mighty Katie Hopkins, in her lovely Georgian house, punching down.” Yeah, definitely, definitely,” she says. “I’d say business teaches you this. But life teaches you this, too. I do see that predator-prey thing. I know I’m stronger than most people I know.” My friends were quite scared of my dad,” she says. “He’s really mellow now. It annoys me. I spent my whole life with a very strict father and he’s suddenly turned into bloody Paul Daniels. My children think Grandma and Grandpa are the bee’s knees because Grandma cooks cakes and Grandpa buys them trampolines, which I won’t do because that’s very council estate.” Her second stint at the Met Office didn’t last long. Paparazzi photographers tried to break in to steal images of her, she says. The noise was too much and they fired her.

Do you think your editors owed you a duty of care to take those lines out before the column was published?” I ask. The minister said state governments ask the federal government “reasonably regularly” to admit people above the hotel quarantine caps because “there is an economic benefit” to them coming to Australia. Here are some of the times her wildly controversial statements landed her in hot water, and perhaps an insight into why so many people are feeling frustrated by her booking in Stamford:Hopkins was the punchline of a viral joke in July 2013, when she appeared on ITV’s This Morning criticising “lower class” children names, as well as children named after geographical locations. Her child is called India. Asked if the federal government had given Hopkins a visa because she was considered of good character, Andrews replied that she was “clearly not someone that we want to keep in this country for a second longer than we have to”. It comes after Rashford wrote an open letter to MPs on Monday calling for the Government to reverse the decision not to extend the meal scheme. If you like Katie Hopkins buy the book, if you don’t like her buy the book. If you have believed all the rubbish written about her in the media, definitely buy the book. We remain an inclusive venue, we do not discriminate against anyone, and we such tirelessly to create the most diverse programme we can achieve.”

So if your children want to bounce up and down at your house, how do they release that energy?” I ask.

I didn’t cry at the quality of the writing but at Chapter 8. I won’t spoil it for but I will just say that Katie and me have something in common, she is also the mother of a unique gifted girl and the words she says are truly beautiful and inspiring.

Our booking of Katie Hopkins has proven to be controversial. Some people have expressed concern dismay and outrage, that we, as an independent theatre, have chosen to host such a performance. I wonder if you wrote that way about migrants because you literally don’t feel as much empathy as other people do,” I say.We have more guests than we can handle,” she replies. “People are getting turned away. We’ve got comedians. We’ve got Germaine Greer, which I’m really excited about.” We talk about her new TV series: TLC has announced Hopkins will be presenting her own chat show, Katie Hopkins Rules The World. Most of my outrageous things are an emphasised version of a real truth,” she says. “Well, the ginger thing was a bit…” In July 2013, she tweeted: “Ginger babies. Like a baby. Just so much harder to love.” She trails off and glances awkwardly at my almost ginger hair. 'Most of my outrageous things are an emphasised version of a real truth' Exactly,” she says. “I didn’t have a job. So my best route was to learn to be good at this next thing.”

Katie Hopkins, 47, will be at the Stamford Corn Exchange on May 16 next year for a show about her brain surgery to recover from epilepsy, as well as her typically non-politically correct viewpoints and her career in broadcasting.

A petition has been set up in response to the show booking, titled ‘Katie Hopkins is not welcome in Stamford’. At the time of reporting, it has over 500 signatures. Andrews sought to shift the blame for Hopkins’ entry to Australia, explaining that although issuing visas is a federal responsibility “she actually came into the country with support of a state government”.