147: Jonty Stern

Nostalgia Interviews with Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Jonty Stern, who works at the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. Jonty ran the Doctor Who Society at Lampeter and we learn about his encyclopaedic knowledge of the series and the impact it has had on him over the years.
Jonty did Welsh Studies at Lampeter and focused on Celtic languages. He was the only student in the UK doing Middle Breton at the time, and we find out how he became interested in languages. His ‘A’ levels didn’t work out for him – and we learn how Lampeter beckoned.
Jonty is obsessed with diaries and history and has been keeping a diary since 1986. He even brought along his 1990-93 Lampeter diaries to our interview which took place at the O2 in Greenwich on one of the hottest days of the year in July 2022. Jonty explains how some of his entries were written up many years later and we have a discussion about who his diaries are written for, and how some of the topics on which he writes only exist in his diary – there is no other, say, internet reference to the events described.
Diaries are connected to his photos and tax returns, and during lockdown Jonty interviewed elderly relatives and friends. We find out how they were able to connect what happened, say, on VE Day with their experiences of lockdown.
We talk about the LBGT community, freedom of speech, RP accents on TV, and how diversity changes were not predicted accurately in, say, sci-fi. We also learn about Jonty’s work in market research and his love of museums.
Then, towards the end of the interview we find out about Jonty’s stint on the Channel 4 series Big Brother in 2007, what made him apply, how it was a break from his life up to that point, and how he made it through to finale night. He talks about being both an extrovert and an introvert, how he feels about Channel 4 following doing the programme and what it was like being a celebrity and then no longer being famous. We also discuss how he wasn’t allowed to take his diary with him into the Big Brother house.
Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Jonty Stern and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.