As co-host of The Six O’Clock Show and an active social media star, Katja Mia has got used to being in the spotlight, but as she tells Claire O’Mahony, she has realised how important it is to separate her public and private life.
Katja Mia is a punctual person, answering her phone on the dot of 8.30am, before her photoshoot kicks off later. She’s clearly excited about the morning ahead. "I can’t lie, photo shoots are really good fun. I’ve only done two or three cover shoots so far and getting to do the RTÉ Guide is big and it’s a pleasure."
The 27-year-old TV presenter’s star is certainly in the ascendant. Her profile is growing, thanks to her turn in Dancing With the Stars, and as a co-host of Virgin Media’s The Six O’Clock Show with Brian Dowling.
Last month, she was awarded the Breakthrough Talent Award at the Royal Television Society Republic of Ireland Awards, where she was recognised by the committee for her "talent, hard work and inspiring influence and impact on Irish audiences."
Katja was delighted to scoop the prestigious prize. "That made me feel so great," she says. "It was such an honour because last year, I attended the awards and I was just presenting a TV award. I remember being so happy to be there because I think I was in TV a year at that stage, and you're in the same room as all these amazing producers and TV broadcasters, and other stars that you look up to. I just felt really good to be in the presence of all that, and it felt great. It was great for networking.
"Then, I remember getting the email the following year telling me that I’d won an award this year, and it was the biggest accomplishment I think I have to date, because I'm very new in the industry."
She continues, "It gave me everything I needed to just keep going for the next few years, to make a mark and make a name for myself."
Raised in Lucan, Dublin (her parents left troubled Burundi and settled in Ireland), before moving to Blanchardstown with her family, she studied international finance, economics and German at Maynooth University. She then worked in financial services; before leaving that industry, she’d already worked for two banks.
"It was very much a regular 9 to 5. I’d put on my runners and walk to the office – that was very much my life," she recalls. "I studied finance in college so I was really happy to get a graduate job. It was a very good experience, and I do feel like I learned a lot."
But her real dreams lay elsewhere. "I’m still very grateful for that period of my life, but I don’t think it was for me. As a child, I was definitely someone who flourished in the arts. I loved drama and being in school plays. I went to stage school and any opportunity I could get, I put my hand up. Working in a bank, I think I was ignoring a massive part of who I am because of, I think, security."
Financial security was always important to her because of her parents’ experience. "I think, as a result of that, when you’re a child, you’re almost thinking, 'OK, what job can I get to just make money?’ You don’t even think about your happiness. But money can’t be your only motivator in life. During Covid, I had all that time to think, well, what am I actually passionate about? What job feels like ‘me’?
Modelling came calling, after an agency saw pictures that Katja had posted online in 2020. At the same time, she was building a following on social media as a YouTuber and content creator. She filled in for Muireann O’Connell on Virgin Media Ireland’s morning show, Ireland AM, and also presented Uprising, a series showcasing Irish musical talent.
She and Brian Dowling have been working together for four months now, co-hosting The Six O’Clock Show. They appear to have settled into their roles quite easily, and Katja clearly has a great relationship with her work spouse. "I remember I had this conversation with Brian, I think it was in February, where we were like, ‘This feels like we’ve been doing this for six months already’ because it felt really good. Working with him has been seamless."
Although she was eliminated from this year’s Dancing With the Stars at the quarterfinal stage, Katja is proud to have taken part in the show. "Looking back, I’m really surprised at how much I challenged myself, and I'm really glad that I did it. I think a lot of people look at it from the outside and think it's all glitter and a bit of dancing, but my God, it was probably the hardest work that I've done in my whole life.
"It really tests you, especially when it's something that's out of your comfort zone. If you're not a dancer, stepping into a dancer's world is crazy, because you train like a dancer, you rehearse like a dancer, you are expected to be in for all scheduled times. You've got to be really strict with yourself and you have to think like a dancer.
"I didn't realise how intense it was, but it was so fascinating to see and experience because I've watched the show as a fan and you don't think it looks that hard. When you do it, you're like, ‘Wow, this is work!’ But yes, I'm glad I did it because now I'm running the mini marathon in June, and I used to think that was hard."
During her time on DWTS, Katja was subjected to online trolling, including attempts to body shame. This didn’t surprise her, but understandably, it upset her.
"I mean, I get trolling on TikTok, I get trolling on Instagram. It's nothing new. But I think at that particular moment, I was quite sensitive because we were at the height of the how. Everyone is working so hard. You're being tested. You don't have much time to see family and friends. When you got tired and then something you might scroll across in the comments might just get to me that day. That week I was definitely extra sensitive," she says.
"But trolling is something that I think a lot of people in media will get on a weekly basis. I was literally only looking at TikTok yesterday, and there's troll comments there. So you have to expect it. I think when you're doing well in your life, there's always going to be people that want to bring you down. They're not happy. They might not know your story so they just want to look for any way to bring you down because they think you're up on a high horse, but of course, you're not."
She tries not to pay much attention to trolls, "because there are nasty things that they are going to say, but if I looked at them every day, and let them get to me, I wouldn’t show up for work."
These days, she’s a little more careful about what she posts on her own social media channels. "I’m still trying to be carefree and authentic and real; that’s just who I am. But I don’t put up much about my relationship or my family. I’m already getting trolled for my body or my job, but I wouldn’t want them to come for my family because, obviously, they didn’t put themselves out there."
Katja has been in a relationship with Darragh Curran since 2017. His online persona is the popular ‘Guinness Guru’, reviewing the pint and the places that serve it, at home and abroad.
"It's great having someone that understands the industry you work in and someone you can get ideas from. He supports me as much as I support him. I think some people like having a partner who comes from a different world, which is also cool. He's not involved in my world, but at the same time, he understands it. We don't work together, but he gets it.
"That does make life a lot easier for us. I'm really happy that he’s just as ambitious as I am, and we share the same dreams. We both started from nowhere and appeared on social media or on radio or for him, or TV for me. It's been great."
When she’s not on screen, Katja is very much a homebird. Her favourite things to do are to hang out with her mum and the rest of her family (she has three sisters and a brother), her best friend and her boyfriend. She’s a massive fan of reality TV and is also a keen cook.
"I love having family and friends over for food; I love hosting, I love being at home. That's how I relax", she says. "Even during DWTS, we’d have rehearsals on Saturday for about two, three hours. But Saturday was always date night, to either see my friends, my family, or me and Daragh would always do a date night."
Katja seems happy with where her career is going, but what might her fantasy TV job be?
"I love reality TV so much and I would love to host a massive show down the line – way, way down the line. Anything that involves people; I'm very interested in people and the psychology of love and relationships, so any shows like that would be right up my street."
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