Jake QUICKENDEN

INTERVIEW BY: DANIEL MAY & GARY CAMPION

It’s safe to say you have been a busy boy between getting married to Sophie, having your gorgeous son Leo, ITV presenting, and now starring in the Full Monty UK theatre tour. What do you do to unwind with such a busy schedule?

Yeah life is so hectic! But all in a good way, I’ve been training for a big fight for the past ten months so have been putting all of my extra time into training, getting fit, learning new disciplines and generally sharpening up, so fitness is my way to unwind, even though its not exactly chill.

At the time of this interview, you are preparing for your big MMA Stage to Cage fight. What have you been doing to train and prepare for this and what do you reckon your chances are?

I won! Knocked Paul out in 1 minute 16 seconds, actually mad that we have both been training for 10 months and it was all over so fast. But I absolutely loved it. Paul is a great guy and we had a great friendship despite being opponents. I’ve been either fitness or MMA training up to 4hrs a day!

We love following you, Sophie, Freddie and Leo on Instagram and watching all the madness that you all get up to, have you any advice for any budding influencers now you have hit the 1 million mark?

Mine is a funny story as I had a big wave of hugely popular reality shows back in the day, so obviously that propelled things for me. But I think the key to intresting content is just to be yourself. If you are having a laugh, sharing your real life and up for being seen as you are, you’ll always do well and keep your followers keen to see more.

You do love a good ice bath along with a good old deep and meaningful thought while in your smalls (we’re not complaining lol!). If there is one piece of advice you could go back and give your younger self what would it be?

I think I would tell younger Jake to care a bit less what people think. Its really hard when you have so many people commenting on things and giving their opinion on your life, but you just have to do what makes you happy and screw what everyone else thinks.

Is there any part of your career so far that you regret doing and why?

I don’t believe in regrets, I think every stage is part of your journey and I would do everything all over again in a heartbeat.

Is there anything in your career you have turned down that you wish you said yes to now and why the change of heart?

I’ve pretty much always grabbed everything with both hands so I can’t really think of anything that I’ve turned down! I love to work!

The Full Monty Tour, give us the rundown on the show, your character and what we can expect when we go to see the show and what’s on the cards after the tour finishes?

The show is unreal. I know I am biased but everything from the staging to the cast is just beyond. My character is so incredible as he is the most relaxed and open out of all the lads, but has this much more vulnerable side too. He paves the way for the other cast members to open up and be who they truly are, so its an honour to play the part.

You’ve been to Belfast many times, is there a particular thing you like to do or place you like to visit while you are here ? And also is it a flying visit or will be get much free time?

To be fair I am obsessed with the Titanic so I’ll be keen to go and check out the museum. I don’t do masses on my downtime apart from go to the gym and grab food with my castmates, I don’t really go out anymore so I keep myself to myself a bit!

This interview will be in the Christmas edition of the magazine, what are your plans for Christmas and how excited are you for the magic of Santa with Freddie and Leo?

We don’t have them set in stone yet but we have lots of little trips planned as we have a break from the show, I’ve been on the road a lot so I can’t wait to spend tons of time with the kids and Soph. Leo is at the perfect age for Christmas when he is super excited and Fred is just the best bigger brother, so wherever we will be it will be amazing.

Can we look forward to a Jake Quickenden Calendar this year or do we need to start a petition lol?

No plans yet! But feel free to start one!

In the way the Queen and now the King record a Christmas Day message, if you were asked to stand in for him what would your Christmas Day message be?

I would say, we’ve survived another year and lets all be grateful for every moment, every day and every blessing – people focus way to much on the negatives in life.

If it happens to be another 6 years by the time we chat again how to you see your life?

I mean, I am all about presenting, acting and fighting just now, so hopefully I’ll be leading This Morning, acting in British movies and an MMA champion!

New year is all about resolutions - are you planning on giving up anything or achieving something?

I gave up alcohol this year, and sweet foods / junk foods – so I don’t really think there is much left!