RY EVEEEK! W This week,k Pete P recalls ll an embarrassing b i iincident idd with i h a megastar andd wades d iinto the h smacking ki ddebate b At the time of writing, I’m in Australia visiting my mum and dad with Junior and Bista. It’s nothing too serious but my mum’s not been in the best of health, so while the kids were on half term I thought it would be the perfect time to fly over and spend some quality time with her. Emily couldn’t get the time off work, so she stayed at home with Millie and Theo. My sister Debbie’s getting married in Australia next year so the plan is for all of us to come over together for the wedding – fingers crossed! Junior and Princess absolutely love
Home sweet home
PHOTOS: Getty
DISCIPLINE DEBATE Martin Freeman sparked controversy after admitting that he smacked his two children when they were younger. He wasn’t condoning it, but said he did it because he couldn’t rationalise with them and was “at the end of my rope”. When I was growing up, we got a smack if we did something wrong and it didn’t do us any harm. If anything, it taught us respect. However, when I became a parent, I knew that I’d never smack my kids, and I never have. In my experience, I get the same result just by giving the kids
“the look”. And when they misbehave, I take their toys or technology away. Richard Madeley later revealed he was beaten by his dad and teachers growing up. I was of the same generation – I got the cane at school and was even punched in the chest by a head teacher. It’s not right, but that’s the way it was. These days, MY VIE I believe we shouldn’t ON W T smack our children. N E WH E
What a fool! I totally relate to a story Ashley Roberts shared last week about the first time she met one of her idols, Johnny Depp. She was so starstruck, she randomly told him she has no cartilage in her nose! It reminded me of when I met George Michael for the first time back in 1996. He was speaking to me about being a fellow Cypriot, but I couldn’t string a sentence together. I was just spouting random mumblings. I was so in awe of him, but he must have thought I was just rude. I was annoyed with myself for years afterwards.
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it on the Gold Coast. They looked like real little Aussies hitting the surf every morning. Before flying home, I was asked to give a talk to students at my old high school about success and how you can achieve things against the odds. It was a real honour.
NO BIGGIE I’m back in the UK for my 47th birthday this week. People have been asking me if I’m worried about getting older, but it doesn’t faze me. I know it’s a cliché, but you’re only as old as you feel – and I feel young! Of course, I have days where I feel tired and have no energy, but I don’t associate it with getting older – that’s just life. I have no plans to do anything special to celebrate. I’ll be happy with a nice dinner with Emily and the kids. But when my 50th approaches, I’ll celebrate big time!
Keith gets the chop I was sad to hear my pal Keith Lemon’s TV show, Through The Keyhole, has been axed after six series. I actually appeared on the show back in 2015 and it was quite an experience! Keith rummaged through my home in Cyprus and smashed a load of plates in my garden – as a Greek reference. It’s a shame it’s been cancelled, but I don’t think Keith has anything to worry about. It’s not like he’s short of job offers. He’s brilliant at what he does and very good at creating new opportunities.
