If you’re someone who prefers to stay in on New Year’s Eve, chances are you’re familiar with musician Jools Holland’s BBC Hootenanny show, which this year features Jessie J, Olivia Dean, Ronnie Wood and Heather Small.
While it might seem that Jools Holland is the Michael Buble of New Year’s Eve, defrosting just in time for his yearly appearance, the presenter is actually busy all year round.
What does Jools Holland do all year?
Alongside the Hootenanny, Jools also hosts his year-round BBC show, Later… with Jools Holland, showcasing both new and legendary musical acts, plus he has spent the majority of 2025 on tour with his band, playing up and down the country, including in Bristol, Manchester and York.
Where does Jools Holland live?
When he’s not on the road, Jools, 67, lives in a castle in Kent. He calls Cooling Castle, near Rochester, his home. The 14th-century property is home to Jools and his wife, visual artist Christabel McEwen, whom he married in 2005. They share a daughter, Mabel. Jools also has two children, George and Rose, from a previous relationship with Mary Leahy.
© Dave Benett/Getty ImagesSpeaking about his children, Jools told the Guardian in 2012: “All my children are musical. My daughter Rosie does backing vocals for my band, and my other two children, Mabel and George, like playing music, although not professionally.”
Jools is also a grandfather, sharing in June 2025 that Mabel had welcomed a son. “It’s wonderful to be a grandfather again to a brand new beautiful baby boy. Very proud of my daughter, Mabel and extremely grateful to the midwives from the Homerton Home Birth Team for supporting his delivery.”
© FacebookJools also has another grandson, Gabriel, who is thought to be around five, though Jools has never confirmed his age, nor how many grandchildren he has in total!
© InstagramJools Holland’s hobbies
Alongside playing the piano, Jools Holland keeps his brain busy with model railways, dedicating a room in his house to the hobby, creating a gigantic model railway encompassing the rails of London St Pancras/Euston via Ghentwerp to Berlin.
Of the start of his passion, Jools told Railway Modeller in 2019: “My interest in model railways started as a young boy. In the Swinging Sixties, my father built me a small layout in our tiny, terraced house in not-particularly-swinging Greenwich on the River Thames in old Southeast London. Over the years, I maintained an interest, and as my circumstances improved, I kept some sort of layout set up in a shed or basement of wherever we were living.
© InstagramOn his decision to dedicate a room to his hobby, Jools said: “My family were very understanding, and looking back, they seemed quietly delighted that I was going to be out of the way.”
Chatting about how the large-scale model occupies him, Jools added: “The wonderful thing about the big layout is that there is always some corner to redevelop or improve. Thirty years ago, a kindly, old, white-bearded gentleman who ran a now long-closed model shop in Southeast London advised me not to try to hurry through things but to enjoy the creative process. He said, ‘It’s your modeling time which will give you the greatest pleasure.’ I would agree.”
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