Pandora Christie, who grew up in and out of foster care, went on to host some of the UK’s biggest radio shows. Here, she talks about resilience, the profound impact of her foster parents, and why young people in care should always dare to dream.
Pandora Christie’s voice is one of the most recognisable in UK radio. After more than two decades on the airwaves, she has presented on some of the biggest stations in the UK, including Capital and KISS. In 2019, she landed her dream job at Heart FM, where she currently presents the mid-morning show to millions of listeners. Her warmth and charisma make her an effortless host, whether she’s on air or on the red-carpet interviewing A-list stars. “No two days are the same,” she says. “I could be up at 4 a.m. interviewing Mariah Carey one day, and the next, I’m on the red carpet for the F1 awards. I don’t mind the unpredictability - it keeps me on my toes,” she laughs.
To talk to Pandora is to be drawn in by her energy. She radiates positivity, her optimism seemingly unshakeable. But that perspective was forged from hardship - her ability to find joy in difficult situations is something she learned from her mother, a woman who, despite her struggles, tried to make life feel like an adventure.
Pandora’s early years were chaotic. She grew up with her mother and sister, moving between hostels and community housing, sometimes sleeping on park benches after being evicted. “I was in and out of care, literally from the moment I was born,” she explains. “I didn't know that that was any different to normal, because obviously when you're a kid, you don't talk about it. For me, foster care felt temporary - like a holiday. You never really knew how long you were going to get where. I never felt upset about it because I knew I’d always go back to my mum.”
Her mother battled severe depression and alcoholism, though at the time, those words were rarely spoken. “Back then, you couldn’t talk about depression - especially as a woman. It was very much, ‘Keep a smile on your face and just keep going,’” Pandora recalls. “She hid so much, but she did her best. She was like a swan - on the surface, she seemed fine, but underneath, she was paddling like mad.”
Despite her challenges, Pandora’s mother had an extraordinary ability to shield her daughters from the hardships they experienced. “She’d turn anything into a game - like, if she wanted a cigarette, she’d make up a game where we had to find cigarette butts on the street. You might think, ‘That’s really tragic,’ but for me, I was running around having the time of my life because that was what I knew. She always managed to find ways to make things feel magical, and to make our lives feel normal.”
Then, when Pandora was nine, tragedy struck. Her mother suffered a fatal heart attack in front of her. “That was horrendous,” she says. “Watching your mum die when you’re nine years old - literally in front of you - I don’t think you ever get over it. And I don’t wish to.”
For years, she avoided speaking about it, burying the trauma deep. “I think I just shut down because it was such a traumatic time in my life. I’ve got this little mechanism, which - I don’t know whether it’s good or bad - but it’s almost as if I shut everything off. It’s like a safe. Everything - me speaking about my mum, the trauma of her dying in front of me - gets locked away. And that was it. I just shut that door and never spoke about it.”
Following her mother’s death, Pandora was placed in permanent foster care. Her first placement was with a white family in London who had several foster children. “They were amazing, a real pillar of the fostering community,” she says. “Throughout my life, I had been in and out of foster care, but I remember thinking, ‘I'll never be going back,’ so it felt different this time.” That realisation didn’t stop her from accepting the love of her foster parents. “It was just something that lingered at the back of my mind - like I was telling myself, ‘Okay, you need to relax here, bed in, and just accept this situation.’”
But then, everything changed again. New laws required the needs of children to be paramount, meaning some foster children were moved to to be placed with families that reflected their ethnicity or background. This change in legislation directly led to Pandora being moved. She recalls, “I was perfectly happy. I was literally their child. They loved me, and I loved them,” she recalls. “But bear in mind, I had moved families all my life, so this was just another movement for me. So, I just accepted it. I then went to live with a Black family. And the culture was just completely different.”
Her new foster carers, Tony and Ruby, introduced her to a world she hadn’t known. “I got to learn about my heritage. I learned about my hair - how to care for it properly, what products to use. I learned about my skin, what nourished it. It was a completely different experience.”
Now a teenager, struggling to process her past, Pandora rebelled. “I was in a whirlwind. I still wasn’t talking about my mum or how it was affecting me.” But Tony and Ruby never pressured her. “They were always there for me. They were incredibly patient. They never pushed me to open up or sat me down and made me speak about things I wasn’t ready for. Foster carers really need to understand the child first and then adapt around them - Tony and Ruby did that beautifully and it’s something I can’t ever repay them for. They made me feel loved. Supported. And as a foster parent, those are the most valuable things you can give a child.”
Their patience and unwavering support became the foundation Pandora needed. “A lot of people ask me what the turning point was - when I decided to talk about my mother’s death. I can’t remember it exactly. I just remember talking freely one day and thinking, ‘Why am I not talking about this more?’”
She credits Tony and Ruby with creating the safe, loving environment that allowed her to flourish. “Foster carers do such an amazing job. I just wish they got more recognition. Tony and Ruby honestly made me who I am today. I have so much to thank them for.”
As well as being Pandora’s rock, Tony and Ruby would champion her in every way, cheering her on as she explored her role as a performer. “I used to put on little talent shows. I can’t sing, I’ll be honest with you,” she laughs. “But they’d take me shopping for penny sweets, get the popcorn in, and let me entertain them and champion me for basically putting on what I probably think is quite possibly one of the worst things to sit through” she laughs”.
Before finding her calling in radio, Pandora initially set her sights on acting, but soon realised she was best suited to playing herself. “I made the swap from acting to presenting when I realised that most of the acting jobs I got were just me being me - an over-exaggerated version of myself,” she laughs. “So I thought, maybe I’m not a great actress, but I’m really good at being me. That’s when I realised - why am I not presenting?”
For Pandora, radio was the perfect fit - it’s a space where she can connect, uplift, and be unapologetically herself. “Music has always been in my life. It cheers us up, it reflects our moods. Certain songs bring back memories, they take you back to a certain point in your life,” she says. “Once I realised that my actual destiny was just to be myself, I couldn’t think of a better profession to be in.” She describes radio as her “happy space.” “I go to work, and it’s where I talk to millions of people every day and make them feel good about themselves and their lives.”
That belief in the power of conversation extends far beyond the studio. Pandora is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and the importance of speaking openly about emotions. “I’m so happy that, nowadays, more people feel able to talk about their struggles,” she says. “I’m someone who’s very vocal - if I’m feeling upset, uncertain, anxious – anything - I need to talk it out. Not just in professional settings, but in life. It doesn’t matter what the problem is. Talking saves lives.”
It’s a lesson she has learned through experience, and one she hopes will resonate with young people in care today. “Don’t let your present situation define your future,” she says. “Keep reaching. Your life can change in an instant. Have a dream - something to aim for and work towards it. And always use your past as your driving force to succeed.”
She pauses, then smiles. “That’s something my foster carers always told me. They taught me to reach for the stars and that, whatever I wanted to do, nothing could stop me if I wanted it badly enough. And they were right. Look at me now.”
