Rochelle and Marvin Humes on the joy of working together as they return with new series of The Hit List

Between them, they’ve sold close to three million albums and have delighted legions of fans in packed arenas all over the country.

But as Marvin and Rochelle Humes stand in the limelight together today, the other members of their respective bands JLS and The Saturdays are nowhere to be seen. Instead of stage lights and musicians, they are surrounded by huge neon-lit sets and excited contestants trying to win enough prize money for a dream holiday – but fittingly for this pop pair, it’s still all about the music.

The married couple have returned to the BBC studios in Scotland to shoot the seventh season of hit game show The Hit List, and both admit Glasgow has become a home away from home – even though presenting and pop stardom are two entirely different worlds.

Memories of Scotland

Marvin said: “Scotland holds a very special place in both of our hearts, personally and professionally.

“My nan was born in Dundee, so I feel like I’ve always had a connection with Scotland. And with JLS, we always opened our tours up here, whether it was Braehead, the SECC, the Hydro or the Armadillo, and we’ve played a lot of venues in Aberdeen and Edinburgh too, while Rochelle and The Saturdays also played a lot here.

“So we always had nice memories of Scotland even prior to The Hit List. We’re filming 12 shows this time, and we always love coming up here. Last week I discovered Cullen skink for the first time, at The Gannet, and that was amazing.”

Rochelle added: “It was the first time in my life I ever got offered a sausage roll and an oyster in the same course – but it worked.

“One year we were shooting here while I was pregnant and I promise you I was about to get in a taxi to find someone who would make me a deep-fried Mars Bar.”

Early days of fame

Thankfully for the couple, audiences still consider the Humes family very much to their flavour. Marvin shot to fame with The X-Factor runners up in 2008, behind Alexandra Burke, and went on to enjoy a chart-topping career with his pals, accruing five number one singles.

He later evolved into presenting and radio DJ roles, and his telly work includes starring in last year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Rochelle started her pop life in S Club Juniors/S Club 8 before going on to become a star name in girl band The Saturdays. She also transitioned smoothly from pop life to screen work, with major hosting gigs such as Ninja Warrior UK, The Xtra Factor and This Morning.

Smiling backstage at The Hit List studio, she admitted that despite her busy presenting CV and A-list co-hosts, working with her husband is extra special.

The couple met 14 years ago then married in 2012, and now have three young children, Alaia-Mai, Valentina and Blake.

Rochelle said: “There’s not really anyone I would work with in a co-hosting capacity that I could read their mind like I can [with Marvin] – we are husband and wife.

“I know exactly what he’s not going to want to do and vice versa. He knows if I see a word in the prompt I’m definitely not going to be able to pronounce that I’ll quickly say, ‘Can you put Marvin’s name there?’ I wouldn’t do that to anyone else, like one of my co-hosts on This Morning.”

Turning to Marvin, she joked: “But I can with you – you’ve got to love me anyway.”

She continued: “When you start a new job in telly you’d usually have to get to know somebody if you didn’t already, so I think that puts us a little step ahead.”

And, most importantly, the couple’s professional and personal relationships are still as strong as ever. She added: “Everyone said to us when we first started ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ I’m like ‘Yeah, I think so, why?’. Seven series later we’re still getting on.”

The Hit List

As both professional musicians and presenters, game show The Hit List is a dream gig for the pair.

The show, which sees Rochelle and Marvin welcome competing teams to try to name a song from the opening notes of the tune, has been a family-friendly staple for seven seasons, as well as a run of celebrity special episodes. Those are particularly fun for the pop pair, as they often see pals and colleagues coming in for a battle of muso wits and expertise.

In the regular format of the game, winners pass through the rounds until they finally get the chance to name as many quickfire songs on a specific theme, with the chance of winning a jackpot of up to £10,000. The choice of tunes varies from genres to decades.

Both love the rock ‘n’ roll vibe of the shooting day, and admit to getting excited for contestants’ performances.

Rochelle commented: “Yeah, we get so invested. We really want them to do well and when they win the money at the end, we feel like we’re a big team winning it together.

“You get invested in why they’re here, like saving up for a wedding, for example, so if someone leaves with that money we’re just delighted.

“I think it’s that kind of addictive viewing where you feel like you’re a part of it, or like you could be a part of it. It’s real family viewing, so you can all sit on the sofa – grandparents, parents, kids all play along at home.”

Marvin agreed: “A special one for me is seeing a dad and daughter. I put myself in their shoes thinking that when I’m an older man and my kids are 20-odd, I’m going to want her to still think I’ve got a little ounce of cool in me, which I probably won’t.

“But I just know that when the dads are there with their younger daughters they really want to do well. The daughters are really proud of their dad and vice versa. That’s always a nice dynamic to see.”

Family life

The couple’s happy family home life and TV studio work life is a world away from the pop star lifestyle they were renowned for when they first met.

Presenting is clearly much more kids-friendly in terms of working patterns, but they admitted that even when the music world does come calling these days, it’s very much a changed routine from performing in their younger days.

While Rochelle would “never say never” to a Saturdays reunion, she admits it’s some way off as the busy bandmates struggle to get their schedules synced for catch-up drinks, never mind a tour.

But Marvin has been delighted to hit the road again with JLS, albeit with a somewhat different artists’ rider than back in the day.

“Instead of having girls screaming at me, I’ve got you guys screaming song titles, so that’s a big difference,” he laughed.

Rochelle added: “Backstage, the shows are very different from what they used to be. There used to be all these parties backstage with alcohol in abundance, but now on the last tour we actually hired a company to build a soft play in the back of the arena because there were so many kids.”

Marvin admitted: “Yeah, the times have changed. But we love it though, we’re very lucky.”

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Guest role turns up the heat

A massive studio lined with neon lights and flashing images is enough to dazzle any game show contestant.

But when the music starts and two of the UK’s most well-known pop stars of the last decade challenge your memory and ear for a tune, that’s when the spotlight gets hot.

Marvin and Rochelle Humes invited The Sunday Post to take part in a special edition of The Hit List to find out what it’s like to face a musical grilling on primetime TV.

We’ve all played this kind of game at home and wondered how contestants get flustered when trying to identify obvious songs – but, as soon as the lights go on, you’d struggle to remember the words to Happy Birthday, never mind identify one of Diana Ross’s mid-80s comeback hits.

Thankfully, the infectious charm and welcome from Team Humes goes a long way to chill you out, as even more songs come at you than you could shake a Shazam app at.

Sadly, a well-versed millennial rival knew their early 2010s chart hits better, and first place eluded us – but there were enough almost-golden-oldies (thanks to 4 Non Blondes and UB40) to propel us into second place.

And with it, a sense of achievement that was worth more than the £10,000 which would be on offer to the real contestants. Well, almost.

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The Hit List returns to BBC One, Saturday, at 6.20pm