Reggie Yates: ‘I have late-night romantic dinners with my laptop’

Reggie Yates started acting at a young age. He’s appeared on TV show Desmond’s, when he was eight, and featuring in Grange Hill and Doctor Who, as well as providing the voice of CBeebies character Rastamouse. In his 20s, he presented The Radio 1 Chart Show as well as Top of the Pops. Since 2011, Yates has forged an award-winning career in documentaries on topics such as teen gangs, homosexuality in Russia and religion in South Africa. He is also a photographer, writer and director, and his short film, Date Night, won best short in the London independent film festival in 2014. His latest documentary, Reggie Yates: Searching for Grenfell’s Lost Lives, airs on 25 March, 9pm on BBC Two.

Why do you focus on the people rather than the politics of Grenfell in your new documentary?
Like many other people I was touched by the terrible events at Grenfell. But I felt like I’d seen lots of similar reports, about the police or the public inquiry. I wondered if someone who isn’t a journalist could make a documentary that put the people of Grenfell at the centre of the story, that focused on who the people were, as opposed to why it happened. We went to the memorial wall, and you could see the same people mentioned again and again, the same pictures, so you could see who the big people in the area were. We were led by those tributes.

How did you go about telling those stories?
You have to not assume anything. These are real people who have real lives, and those lives were taken prematurely. Like with Jessica (Urbano Ramirez, 12), there were 18 children who died in Grenfell, including her. It would be inappropriate to assume things about her. You have to talk to the people who knew her, and her friends playing back her Snapchat messages made her real. And then there were the people who actively wanted me to tell their story. Like Paul in the white van, early in the documentary, whose friend called me over because he had actually been in Grenfell when the fire happened. And Reece, who was friends with Yasin (El Wahabi, 20). Reece really cared about how the story was told. I felt moved that they told me, that they wanted to talk to me. How that community dealt and is dealing with the pain was beautiful, there’s no other word for it.

You’re the same person as you were when you presented Top of the Pops but you are regarded differently now. How does that feel?
It is mind-blowing to me, the different reaction I get now. There’s a unique trust between me and the public that’s grown up and that’s really important to me, but the truth is that trust has come about because the programmes I make are not about me. The subject is always bigger: that’s the lesson I’ve learned about making documentaries.

You recently apologised for your comment that it’s better for current UK music artists to be managed by people like them rather than “some random fat Jewish guy from north-west London”. What were you trying to say and what did you learn from the reaction?
I made a stupid and hurtful comment which I massively regret. The context of what I was trying to say is irrelevant. It was wrong and I offer no excuses. While I can’t take back what I said, I have apologised to the Jewish community and am grateful for those who have shown me understanding and forgiveness. I’ve learned that context is irrelevant when a comment plays to negative racial stereotypes and I take my responsibility as a film-maker more seriously than ever.

You’re a presenter, a director, a writer, an actor and a photographer. How do you pick what you want to do?
I don’t see myself as a presenter any more, I see myself as bringing people’s stories to the outside world. I don’t present in the same way as I used to, down the camera lens. Instead I’m talking to the director, having a genuine conversation with him, the same as I’m having a genuine conversation with a person on screen. My relationship with the camera has shifted. And that’s affected how I direct drama. I’ve taken that conversation out to when I talk to actors, I look for the same conversation, it’s no different to the realism that I find in factual. I think my days as an actor are done. I still have friends from the Anna Scher [drama school] days, like Daniel Kaluuya, and he was in Date Night. But for me, it’s all about the story, and I prefer telling the stories and shaping the narrative.

What has changed in our culture to bring black talent to the fore?
I think the talent has always been there, I think the work has always been there, the creatives too, but I don’t think there’s been so many opportunities for it to be seen. The internet changed everything. You can’t deny what people want any more, and that’s shaping culture in a very different way. It’s shining a light on people that everyone wants, such as Wiley and Skepta. It’s a very exciting time, and I’m proud to have a voice in this era.

How’s your love life?
Ha! I live alone. It’s hard when you work as much as I do, it’s not conducive to dating. I have late-night romantic dinners with my laptop.

Are you still into music?
Oh yes, definitely. I just went on Romesh’s [Ranganathan, comedian and host of Hiphop Saved My Life] podcast and talked about it. I don’t have any streaming accounts – I like to own music, and I like people to recommend stuff to me, or I surf Soundcloud or YouTube to find stuff I like. I love Octavian, who’s a young British rapper, Daniel Caesar, Yxng Bane, Burna Boy, who’s British Nigerian.

Are you any good at cooking?
I tend to go out for dinner. If I’m writing all day, I like to know that I’ve got people to see in the evening, so tonight I’m booked to go for dinner with a couple of friends, one who’s doing well as an actor and another who’s a writer. I like to hang out with people who are smarter than me, who make me think. I don’t really stop working. I don’t like stopping, because it’s not really work for me. If I’m making a programme like we did about Grenfell then as difficult as some of the content is, to hear those delicate personal stories is a privilege. It’s so fulfilling. And with writing, it’s like a Rubik’s Cube. It’s so hard to puzzle it out, but when it falls into place it’s the most satisfying feeling in the world. I’m always chasing that feeling of fulfilment.