Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S16 Ep 26: Ian Wright

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

We’ve got mum’s second favourite footballer of all time (after her beloved Marcus) on the pod this week, it’s the legendary Ian Wright!!! Husband Sam - a spurs fan - even did the hoovering before he came over because that’s how much the nation adores this man! Football royalty-come-pie maker, Ian has recently launched his very own ‘Uncle Wrightys' collaboration with Willy's Pies, and he brought some round for us to try for lunch. Over an absolutely delicious roast chicken pie, Ian shared stories about growing up with his mum’s daily rice and peas, his eternal love of an oyster, filming his debut acting film role, being a father and some of his kids following in his footballing steps, and he thinks this this could genuinely be the year of England winning the Euros! We are totally in love with Ian, one of the most beautiful and charming guests we’ve ever had! We LOVE YOU IAN!!! Ian’s ‘Uncle Wrighty’s’ roast chicken pie is available to purchase from Willy’s Pies stockists across the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Ware and we are here waiting for football royalty. I couldn't be more excited. My second favourite footballer. We've got Ian Wright coming to Newcross. And bringing a pie. And bringing a pie. So he's done this collaboration with Willy's Pies. I think I follow them on Instagram. I have done. They were a lockdown invention. Chef called Willy makes pies.

And I've heard a lot about them and they're quite cool pies. And Ian Wright... What constitutes a cool pie, darling? Actually, that's a really good point. Anyway, Ian Wright's collaborated with them. He's got a chicken pie, Uncle Wrighty's and Willy's Pies. And so we've got lunch sorted. Great.

I love the first time we're getting a footballer on is to talk about their pies. Pies are very football though, darling. They are. Yeah. You'd expect a pie at a stadium. You also wouldn't expect a footballer to be bringing over their own pie. So I'm very excited by this. What are we going to serve it with?

Some mashed potato, which i did with the ricer so it makes it quite smooth right and some peas and we're keeping it i mean i made a root veg mash last night i did butternut squash sweet potato and parsnip it's too sweet sweet and so make a soup i'm going to do yeah producer alice suggested i put some chicken stock in there and make soup because it's a bit pathetic. Can I tell you, I went to the Abbeyville last night. Yeah. What Graham and I didn't realise, it was steak night.

Ooh. Two steaks, bottle of wine, 45 quid. It was delicious steak. It was great. And when we got there, it was very busy. And Graham said, oh, it's really busy. And everyone looked at him and said, it's steak night. It was so funny. Oh, my God, it's really busy. And everyone looked at him and said, it's steak night. It was so funny.

Oh, my God. That's brilliant. Yeah. We've got a pavlova for Purge. You've done the... I did the pav. Is the over the... The cream.

What goes over it. Okay. Well, I've done whipped cream that took forever because I'm missing a bloody whisk. A paddle. If you give me the name of that, I'll find you one. And then I've put a bit of cardamom in there too. Yeah. Because I've roasted some rhubarb to go on top with a lot of sugar.

So there's a little bit of syrup that will be around it too. And then done some sachos in the frying pan just to kind of toast them slightly. And then they're going to be scattered on. So yeah, we've got Ian Wright on. So I hope we're going to have a pie and a pavlova and I can't wait. The two peas in a pot. I don't know.

Yeah, sure. Pie, pavlova and peas. Well, cheers. Cheers, man. Thanks for having me. Cheers, darling. I'm really excited about this. You're my second favourite footballer. Oh my God, who's Cheers, darling. I'm really excited about this.

You're my second favourite footballer. Oh, my God, who's your first? Because I'm going to get him done. Who is it? Marcus Rashford. Now you see, I can't get him topped now. I was going to get him topped now. I can't because I love him as well. I love him.

Who doesn't? He's an amazing guy. Under a lot of pressure. You can't even get into the realms of the pressure. He's 20 bloody five. Leave him alone. But the thing is as well, he's playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world

and anything just moves the dial, if it's good or if it's bad. He's under a microscope, isn't he? Him, Raheem Sterling, Saka. Yeah. Poor guys, yeah. Even the white players, I should say, like Fulton and Grealish.

The pressure that they're under, these players, these young players, it's really intense. Do you think that's because social media is there now? Absolutely, without a doubt, yeah. Because there's so many opinions and so many ways for people to contact you. And even if you don't want to see it yourself,

you end up seeing it, people tell you or you find out. So it just comes from everywhere. And, you know, you can say the wrong thing and it's a pylon and you know i mean then all of a sudden you're the microscope is on you and how do you think how do you think you would have dealt with social media i don't think i would dealt with it very well do you think you would have got yourself in trouble it's not a case of getting yourself in trouble but with my personality at the time when you first get onto it because i think the guys have got teams around them who help them now. Sometimes they put stuff on there where you think,

well, you shouldn't have put that on. But I believe that if I was on it in my time without that kind of like the team I've got around me now, I'd be in serious trouble because some of the criticism and some of the comments that come towards you are really, really nasty and you just snap. And I probably would have snapped

and the focus of it would be too much for me because my personality is too underlying. I couldn't go that way, especially when I was playing. You know, so it's tough. So I would not have been able to deal with it, because it's tough enough dealing with it as a pundit. Right, yeah. With everything that comes, Len.

So it's like you just have to navigate but you need people like Megs, I need Megs Megs is in the back and people like Roscoe, all the people around me Kaz and Alex and everybody I've got who help with everything I do if it weren't them I wouldn't be seen in the light because I would be doing stuff

Everyone adores you I feel like you can do no wrong even though you're a go. We love you. You can do no wrong. Even though you're a gooner, we love you. Sam loves you and he's so spurs you. And he's serving wine to you like this. Thank you, Sam. Thank you, Sam. Honestly, thank you so much.

And that gear you was wearing, Sam, that green suit. I'm going to get it for you. I had a feeling. It had the name right in it. It looked feeling. It had the name right in it. It looked good. It had the name right in it. I like that. I mean, you've been scrolling.

He hasn't worn that for a while. So you were doing your research on us. My wife sent it. My wife showed me it. Oh, Nancy should have come. She's too, she's very shy like that. Even when we do stuff and we're on the carpet and that, you literally have to force her on to just take a photo

so that we can show the girls when we get in and that. She stays out of it. How did you two meet? We met at a cow in Notting Hill. Oh, fab. You know? Were you there for food? No, I was there for food, yeah.

Yeah? The roast? It wasn't the roast at the time. It was probably fish stew at the time. Bangers and mash, they do. And you didn't like fish, though. When did you go? No, no, because like I say, with my... Well, growing up, we had a kind of a diet which was very...

It was very rigid. With the West Indian food, it was... You had white rice, corned beef. Every now and then, you had steak. You had dumplings and... Callaloo. Callaloo, which was really tough for me. Any kind of vegetable when I was younger was quite tough for me.

It had to be really cut up and diced up corn and stuff but we had the same kind of food all the time mutton, I hated when my mum cooked tripe I remember when she was making it when you wake up in the morning I started crying

I went through years of work because we had to eat rice and peas and chicken every Sunday rice and peas is gorgeous yeah it's gorgeous but when you've eaten it it's from the time you've had sense so you get older

again the kidney beans I went off kidney beans for like years which island is she from? Jamaica she's Jamaican yeah she's Jamaican which parish? she's from Yalas, St Thomas

St Thomas in Jamaica yeah and so when we grew up we ate the same kind of stuff and some of the stuff if I didn't like I just wouldn't eat it so that's when you went out and played football for a bit longer all the time that's all I've done is played football so you've got to thank tripe really

yes tripe for getting me out there and practising rather than eating it my mum was a very good cook and you know the gravy she'd make of it would be sufficient to put on the dumpling and the rice or whatever it was but other than that I didn't have a lot of variety of food apart from West Indian food so you wouldn't buy pizza no no I

didn't we never had pasta I know you go to some people's houses and they have macaroni cheese with their sunny dinner I never had it because I didn't we never cooked it so I didn't like it when I went to school the macaroni was terrible yeah the only thing I loved was the dessert because we never had any kind of afters at home what was your favorite dessert it probably would be it was sponge with the jam on top with that coconut cake is a core memory that cake and custard because again because we didn't have it at the house so you weren't used to it so when you I didn't eat custard with that sponge for a few years. I just wouldn't because I didn't like, I didn't like the custard. Did you not like mixing things?

No, but then, no. Like I remember one time my friend, I used to always swap my apple pie and custard for him and he'd give me sponges. But then after a while I tasted the custard and then I found when I mixed it all in, it was heavenly. So I stopped changing the sponges. And then I said, you know what? Before I give you the apple pie, can I just taste it? And I tasted the apple pie and it had that beautiful crust and the apple inside. And I tasted it.

And that was it. I was hooked on apple pie and custard as well. Which leads me perfectly to pies. Yes. Which is the reason you're here. You're our first footballer we have ever had. And it is a huge honour to have you. And the fact that you're now a foodie

honestly you know with probably the coolest pie maker in london willie's pies so tell us about this you know something the thing with willie's pies we've got my dear friend a lot of women my arsenal player arsenal england player she knew the guys and they were talking and then they they gave her one of the pies so yeah can you give this to ian right because they heard like pies because it's not a secret so tell us about your love for pies first. Well, it just came from when I was a child. You used to have fish and chips every Friday. I didn't like fish because obviously I had fish bone and that choked me.

That was it. I didn't eat fish for many, many years. How old were you when you had it? I was about eight. That must have been terrifying. It was horrible. You know what I mean? Because it was really hard and you couldn't get it out.

I was choking and banging my back and all this stuff and then in the end I vomited it out sorry to say that on the end and then it came out and then that was it I said I'm not eating again

and the fact is I took that as I don't like fish rather than I swallowed a bone and it kind of made me a bit traumatic about it but I used to only have pies

I used to only have pies from the fish and chips shop yeah from the fish and chips shop so what was the order so it would be I'd have steak and kidney pie and chips so I've always had pies. I used to only have pies. From the fish and chip shop? Yeah, from the fish and chip shop. So what was the order? So it would be, I'd have steak and kidney pie and chips. So I've always had pies and I always like a pie

that's full underneath as well. You know, the pasty underneath. Not just like, you go to the pubs and that now. They just do it on the top in those kind of ceramic bowls, which is fine, but like it doesn't,

it's not the memory I want really. It's not an uncle writing with these pies, is it? So the collaboration came like, they gave Lotta a pie to give me. Lotta gave it to me. Then I went and met them once I ate and I said, I'd really like to come and meet you guys. And they told me the story. They really started up in COVID.

You know, they were making pies. Willie's a chef and you're making pies. And then he had his bike and he delivered his pies anywhere just to keep themselves going anywhere. So I really fell in love with the story and then you know you taste the pies and the pies are amazing and i just said to them listen is there any way i can like buy into this you know i mean and then we spoke about it and you said yeah but you've only tasted one one pie we've got so many and i said the thing is is that the character and the passion for it and obviously i I love pies. I said, I'm buying into you.

I'm buying into you too. You're basically doing what Gary Neville did on Dragon's Den. You said, yeah, I'm in. I'm in. Because the thing is that I like to notice it's people's passion. I can listen to somebody who is a train spotter, a stamp collector, a coin collector,

people who do that metal, if they're passionate about it. And the way these guys spoke about pies and what they want to do and, you know, people who do that metal, if they're passionate about it. And the way these guys spoke about pies and what they want to do and, you know, the taste and the different varieties. I said, I just love the sound of it. So I got involved and then obviously launching Uncle Righty's on the 1st of March. I wanted to launch with a pie. Yeah. And I wanted to launch with a, what's it called?

I wanted to launch with a traditional roast. Because I remember like the first time I started to eat a roast, I went to my friend's house when I was younger and obviously going to someone's house on a Sunday and then being able to stay for dinner. It's not right, some piece of chicken. It's the first time I ate a Sunday roast with chicken. Honestly, I'm not joking.

Willie's have got it nearly identical to how the chicken tasted, the potatoes, Yorkshire pudding. I'd lost my mind. I'd never had it before. And so that kind of changed everything. And I always craved that. So that's why I used that as the first pie I wanted to do. So that's like a really nostalgic taste from your childhood.

Absolutely is. Absolutely is. And a lot of my, like I say, the reason why I want to go into food now is not only because of the fact that we're here because of food, really. And you meet people and you can talk to people and you have your greatest times when you're over a nice meal and a nice glass of wine. And everything's, I love the camaraderie and the togetherness of that. Well, you've kindly brought us our dinner that we're going to have.

So we're having the Uncle Wrighty's chicken pie, Willie's pie, and we're going to serve it with mash. Yeah. And some peas. We're keeping it very simple. And then we have for you... Even better. Okay, good.

Even better, just simply because growing up it was simple. I needed it simple. Some of the times I didn't eat because I didn't like some of the food. So look, simpler it is, I can eat the same thing continually. Really?

I could do that. Oh, you're one of those people? Yeah, yeah. And I think that's something that's trained in. And it's something, as I've got older, especially once I got into football, then you're having to eat different things, things for fuel, and having to eat food that's not seasoned, which is very, very difficult for me. Why?

No salt? No salt. Oh, my God. You know, tea, no tea, all that sort of stuff. You had to have everything in its rawest form in respects of how arson venga wanted you to eat it boiled so when you uh because i've my cousin he was very health conscious yeah wasn't he but they measure it's now sports science they measure how much carb you have yes how much protein were they doing that yes it was very precise voice there watch it no of course we did.

I remember there was one time we were singing on the back of the coach that we want our chocolate bars back, we want our Mars bars back. But we weren't having it. We had to eat all that food and it was very plain rice, very bland rice, very bland chicken, very bland vegetables. Husson's French, didn't he bring that? No, he didn't bring the je ne sais quoi with that, simply because

it was all about fuel. And it's a good thing for me because it helped me appreciate food more. But you're very slim. You think? Yeah, I think you look great. No, I'm working so hard

and I'm working hard on it, Len, because I do like food and all the food I like is, I like pasta, I love Italian food. You know, I'm not so much pizzerie and stuff. No. I like steak, but good ones. I like fish. I love Italian food. You know, I'm not so much pizzerie and stuff.

No. I like steak, but good ones. I like fish. So where would you go for an ideal night out with Nancy for a meal, an Italian meal? Probably there's a really cool little restaurant on Dover Street called Chuck's, C-H-U-C-S. And they cook really lovely food, whether it's fish, whether it's pasta, whatever it is. It's really good. Nancy always have the risotto you know they were she has like mushroom risotto and stuff like that that's where I'd probably go so you were talking before we got onto this you met Nancy at the cow the cow yeah it's a very famous pub in Notting Hill I think David Beckham quite like that's where

he goes yeah he goes and you were probably having a fish stew or something and was Nancy there just with some friends well yeah she was with some friends it was really awkward because I saw her because I used to get my styling from a guy who lived on the same road so we'd go there talk about we're going to wear then we'd go to Everest BBC and do our stuff and so he used to live with Nancy they used to share house so he knew her right so that's how I first saw her. And the first time I ever saw her was on a road called Balbury Gardens, just over the back of Notting Hill. And we had to go there, Conrad had to get something.

And I remember she came out, she was half asleep, she'd just got back from South Africa, she's working building production companies over there. And she came out in her pyjamas on the street, and she asked me, do you want to come in? And half asleep kind of vibe, like real slight. And then I said, no, it's okay, thanks. She said, do you want a cup of tea or something?

And I said, no, I'm okay, thank you. Conrad went in, came back out. When he came out, I said, Conrad, who's that? You know what I mean? He said, ah, it's Nancy Ray. And I said, she's really, really cool. And I was talking to her about having no problem about coming out onto the street in her pyjamas,

just asking me if I wanted a cup of tea. And then I didn't meet her again for a while. And then I saw her in the cow. And you remembered her? Yeah, because she obviously just came back from South Africa again. And I remember she was at the bar. And then I went over, tried to do that kind of thing where you say, hey, how are you doing? You know, and talking.

Yeah, she just went, yeah, fine. Yeah, because obviously she... Did she fancy you? I don't know at the time. Well, have you asked her now? No. I think they're doing okay. Yeah, but did she fancy you when you were fancying her?

At the time, I think she was interested. But she wasn't like, oh, hi, how you doing? You know, she's saying, oh, she's very cool. And I think if you do finally meet Nance, which I'm sure you will at some stage, and look at her demeanour and how she is, you can see what I'm saying, how even if she says to me now, no, I didn't really fancy it, I couldn't read her face.

But I had a feeling that something happened, because she didn't blank me, but she did blank the fact that I offered her a drink. I think she turned my drink down. Every time I offered her a drink, she turned it down three times. She said, no, I'll buy it. I'll have a drink. Do you want a drink?

And that was something else that was quite impressive because again, I normally find that I'm buying drinks. So she said no, but she wasn't mean or nasty about it, but she was very cool. And then she just kind of like went off again. So I was like, oh shit, I don't know. How do I get in?

I can't get in. I can't get into the conversation. Oh my God, love this. And so then what happened was, is that, oh shit, I don't know. How do I get in? I can't get in. I can't get into the conversation. I love this. And so then what happened was, is that, so obviously, like I say,

with Conrad, so then Conrad, I said, Con, can't you just come to the car? I said, it's for me. And he said,

yeah, she's busy at the minute. And then one time Conrad phoned her because I bump into her every now and then and then we get a little bit more of a chat, a little bit more, oh, nice one, this and that.

What'd you do? She told her. And then I then I said Conrad ask her if she could come to the cab we're just in it she if she's if she's not doing something she says well okay okay I'll pop in I'll pop in she took a cab up in it and then we just started talking and then it just got a little bit better and Conrad left then we started talking and then I went through my history and she went through her history and we said yeah nice one then we we met again maybe a couple of weeks later and then it just started to go from there were you living around that yeah I was living in Hampstead at the time I'd go to the cow my dear friend Bardi runs it and I'd go there and I'd spend a lot of time there you know this

is where I got my love for oysters as well another thing thing, when I was younger, I would never... Ian. I'd never eat them. We wouldn't be able to go on a date. I feel like you haven't given up so much. I don't. I hate oysters. No, I wouldn't give you oysters then. No. But the thing is, you have to try. Have you tried them though?

Yeah. You don't like the texture? They're like snot. Yeah. When I was a kid, my mum, I used to get clipped because I used to do the snot thing and sniff it up and swallow it. Sorry, everybody, I hope you're not eating at the moment. This is why he likes oysters.

So, you know what I mean? It wasn't a texture that I wasn't used to. So I always found that eating them, I always had to think about them because I'm thinking, I've not chewed that. I've not done, I've just swallowed that straight up. You take it straight down. Straight down. Oh, my God. I'll have baby six.

And then I'm starting to think, oh. That's good going. Yeah, I'll have probably that straight up. You take it straight down? Straight down. Oh, my God. I'll have maybe six. And then I'm starting to think, oh. That's good going. Yeah, I'll have probably six of them. And then I'm thinking about, then I start getting all paranoid about aliens inside me. Oh, my God. And all that sort of stuff. I'm saying, I've not even chewed that. How's that going to get digested?

What do you put on them? I put, it's a kind of vinegary, kind of a vinegary burp. Oh, yeah. You know that vinegar is kind of. Yeah, it's the colour. Like with onions. Yeah, it's kind of the colour of like beetroot vinegar yeah it's the colour right with onions yeah it's kind of the colour of like

beetroot but it's vinegar in little onions so that kind of and I put some Tabasco on it are you a hot sauce person yes I am

would you put hot sauce on your pie no no I put a little like spice in it so it's just not there

but you could taste something else but I wouldn't put hot sauce on but like when you're younger I put hot sauce on everything and it's probably something else, but I wouldn't put hot sauce on. But like when you're younger, I put hot sauce on everything

and it's probably something else I'm going to probably venture with. Hot sauce. With Uncle Wright is, yeah, some hot sauces and sauces and different condiments and stuff like that. Yeah, we know so many, we've talked to lots,

there are definitely hot sauce people in the world. We used to have, there's all different sauces in the house. Obviously Encona was there. You know, but it was mainly made up of Scotch bonnet. I'm finding that a lot of the... I'm finding that a lot of the

hot pepper sauce is on shelves now. They're not as hot as when I remember. But now people are doing different stuff now. You can get hot stuff. Ian, of all the pundits, who's the biggest foodie that you go out for dinner with? And eat oysters and... I wouldn't say oysters, but like...

Because that is very much an acquired taste, isn't it? Yeah. But you know who's really nice to go out with is my dear friend now. We've got a really nice friendship. It's Roy Keane. Oh, we love him! Everybody loves Roy. No, but we really love him. We really love him! Everybody loves Roy No but we really love him

We really love him You know what as well he's He's not as aggressive as he used to be Of course he's not He was when he played Oh my god he was like a donkey So was I and the thing is that we was in such a cauldron of trying to achieve and playing at the very top what we were doing. Because no one, people can't even believe we're friends now.

Right. We can't even believe we're friends now. Do you remember any tackles? Absolutely. That he did on you? No, just tackles. It was always very aggressive. It was always very hard because they were Man United,

we were Arsenal. Do you think they're not aggressive enough now? No, no, no. I don't think it's that they're not aggressive enough now, but the rules and the way that the rules are now, it's very hard to be that aggressive. Yeah. You know, everything now turns into a yellow card ascending offer.

You can look back on the VAR, as I'm sure you all know. Are you for VAR or against it? No, I'm for VAR, but I'm against the people who are using it, because at the moment, if I'm going to be totally honest, without being too mean, but I'm probably going to have to be because I can't find another word to describe them, is the incompetence of some of them in respects of the decisions they're making

and the mistakes they're making. It's the only word I can use because it is. For the level that they are, it is incompetence. They sometimes overrule it, don't they? The VAR? Yeah. But do you think they're brave enough referees yes they are but like it's like anything Lenny if you if you've got um if you've got a safety net then you're gonna you're gonna go to it more yeah it's gonna it's gonna give you something in yourself

where you it takes away your natural I'm gonna make that decision I'm gonna stick by the decision because what can happen with VAR and I don't want to go into it too much because it's quite boring from me talking about this. If you're talking about like the people who are doing it are able to help the people who are on the pitch you should just make the decision like I say and stick to it because you can still now have a decision on there just where they say no we're going to stick with the on-field decision they need to do that I mean I like the lines I love it when they draw the lines

so you can actually see if they're offside or not you know something but then his nose was over so there he's offside I love that

I love that analogy because yeah but the thing with the lines Lenny is that they could be drawn it's like to someone's discretion I know

it is a bit remember offside is trying to stop somebody getting into a position where you've got an advantage that's right your nose or your toenail is not gonna yeah i agree you know i mean so that is the problem now just tell me did mr bigdon mr pigdon pigdon yeah did he teach at your primary school? Yes. And that was Turnham, that was just off St. Norbert's Road as well.

And you've got a pitch there, something, a memorial or something? Yeah, me and David Rowcastle, my old friend, who used to live on the estate as well, yeah, Mr. Pigden. I'm listening, I'm just getting things. No, no, no, it's fine, Jess.

Yeah, so that was the school. I had to put his... Mr. Pigden. Mr. Pigden, yeah. I love that. I mean, no, don't make me cry again. I think about it. When he turned up and he said, I thought you were dead. He said, yeah. I love that. I mean, no, don't make me cry again. I think about it. When he turned up and he said, I thought you were dead.

He says, no, I'm here. You know what was the, again, it's one of those that I can't watch it some of the time. You can't watch it? No, no, no. You're a very emotional person, aren't you? I know the guys take the mickey out of me and they stick to football about it sometimes. Do you ever cry with love for the football? When you've won?

I mean I've seen you jumping about when England are playing or Arsenal See like obviously when I'm watching when I've like if Arsenal

honestly if Arsenal win anything this season like if they win the league or Do you think they will? Yeah I do believe no I believe they can They can

You know what I mean I believe they can Whether they will or trying to stop Manchester City and Liverpool is going to be tough but you know what I mean? Whether they will. Whether they will or trying to stop Manchester City and Liverpool is going to be tough. But, you know what I mean?

I probably will shed a tear if they do it because it means the world to the Arsenal fans. Thank you for supplying lunch for us. No, I'm really pleased because I would have really been excited about what you were going to cook for me. We'll have to do it again now. Yeah, we will. I'll bring Saka or I'll bring Roy. Bring Roy. By the way, I just want to say that the crunch on that.

Did you like that? It was spectacular. I hope people heard. I don't know if we got it on ASMR, but I'm just saying. I'm telling you, that is gorgeous. That is absolutely delicious. Well, the thing is, this is what I'm saying with Will and Josh. I love them.

I adore them. And the reason why you can go in and say, listen, please let me come in, because of the effort that's put in. This is delicious. But I need to know, where are we going to be able to buy these? Are they going to be in the supermarket? Well, at the moment, you can get them on Willie's Supplies website. And when you look on the website, there's a couple of places.

There's a few places, I should say, but they'll give you a list on the Willy's Pies website where you can buy them. This is amazing. I'm having a bit more. I mean, I knew Willy's Pies is great, but this is a great chicken pie. Do you want some more, darling? Yes, I do. Here. Thank you.

If we were coming over to yours, what would you cook for us? A pie. No, apart from the pie. You know, the thing is, as easy as it is, one of the things that I think that we make nice more than anything else, and we're not Michelin star chefs, she does make a lovely salmon soy teriyaki with rice and whatever vegetables, like mung stew or green beans and stuff

like that and we do like a cozy spaghetti bolognese where it's not like yeah we make a spaghetti bolognese and it's done in like it's an all day like you know the mints and we stew it through and it get it because the girls love it as well. So probably one of those two, either the salmon or a spaghetti bolognese, because I love Italian food. Are your kids good eaters? My two youngest are. My older kids, obviously, they're doing their stuff now. When they were younger, they were good eaters as well.

How many children have you got? Eight children. Eight? Yes. Wow. I've got three. I think I'm done. You've got twins, though, haven't you? No.

No, you haven't got twins. No, not twins. Would you have more? No. You've hung up your boots. No, I've got granddaughters now. I've got grandkids as well. Oh, my God.

How are you finding being a grandparent? Well, it's really cool. Other than, you know, I'd like to see them more. I see my granddaughter, Sean's daughter, the most out of anyone. I see her the most because obviously she's banging to football and she loves it and that. So I go and watch her and we go and do stuff together.

So I see her a lot, but I don't see my grandkids as often as I'd like to. How do you feel about, like when Sean got into her football, did you kind of, was it something that you were desperate? I've seen, you know, I've seen the videos of Raheem Sterling's son

when he was like just walking, kicking. And you, you know know Rio's son's doing it did you almost not want them to go there or were you kind of a tiger parent where you were like let's go no what it was is that they from a young age they were we're always kicking the ball around right in the house in the park and stuff so it was never something where I said right come on out we go yeah going to play football now it was they just went out and played football you know obviously their dad being a footballer you know I mean they would play a lot of football they played football in the garden that when they started to play and they started to get um serious about it again you know I wasn't helicoptering

them I wasn't all over them saying you have to do this I always used to say to them listen if you if you want to play and they both showed aptitude they were both good you could see that bradley and sean so where were they playing when they were little they were just playing their little their school in the back at the school and all that not a sunday league or anything yeah no no they're playing sunday saturday league yeah but like it was a case of if you're serious then you know i mean then we'll go but it was never a case of right you need to go to bed now because you need to do that it was just they were just being kids and then they showed the aptitude they got to a place where they were good enough and they both signed for Nottingham Forest and both got what's it called rejected and they went to City but when they were younger I never

ever said anything to them other than if you want to play at the highest level you don't give the ball away you pass to your teammates and you enjoy the game. That's what you do. Those three things are the things I say to my grandkids now as well. Just make sure that you enjoy the game. Make sure you're passing and using your teammates, no matter how good you are and they're not as good, and make sure you enjoy the game.

And that's all it was. I remember when I used to pick them up sometimes. And when I was playing, especially when I was at Arsenal, it was really intense for them because if I came to watch them, you can imagine all the rest of the kids and the parents, then you kind of take the shine off of them a bit. So you have to watch from far away. You know what I mean?

So you can see them from far. Can you imagine now if you're watching some kids playing football with binoculars, I'd probably get arrested or something. You were there with binoculars. I'd have to stay far enough away so you can watch it so then you could see what they're doing so I can say to them, how did you plan this and that? Because it's very difficult for them to say,

if I say to them, yeah, I couldn't watch because I was signing autographs for parents and parents were coming over. So it's very hard to watch them and people not come over and want to say something. So I used to watch them afar say something so I'd used to watch from afar and then when I used to get in the car whether they've won or lost or whatever it was I always I just asked did you enjoy the game you know

did you enjoy the game because you know it's that's what it's about that's the main thing you know and they did they both turned they both became professionals Sean was very successful won the League, won the FA Cup twice. Bradley, you know, played here, then he went to America, became very successful, won a record goal scorer in the MLS in America. So it worked out for them. So you didn't go to an academy?

No, I was working. I didn't get in until I was 22. Which just wouldn't happen anymore. Well, you know what? It would be a lot tougher but um what it made me realize is that if you it sounds a bit like I'm I'm not trying to to preach and that but if you keep going like I say because it's the one thing that was common theme in my life was I loved playing and I kept playing and I kept myself right when I was playing I trained I tried

to do the best and then in the end it just, it clicked simply because I was playing at a level where I was playing so well, scoring three and four games. Goals, sorry, in games. And then you start to get on people's radar and then you're on Crystal Palace's radar. But it was the rejection from the age of 10 to 22 what made me, what really kind of like shaped how I played. When did you go to Arsenal then? I went to Arsenal when I was 28. People don't realise how late I went to Arsenal. I went when I was 28.

And so again, I felt because I came in so late, I was constantly trying to make up for lost time. You know, I missed out on tournaments, you know, where injury or form, but like you always feel like, oh my gosh, I didn't get to go to that tournament but then all I could do was what I was in control of and that was scoring as many goals as I can for Arsenal winning as many trophies as you can so how many caps for England

I got 33 that's all right I'll take I'd have taken one taken one I think the goal I scored for England against Poland we was losing and I was, I came off the bench and I scored was probably the greatest moment of my life. What year was that? That would have been, I think, 97. I think I remember it. It could have been, it could have been, no, it was earlier than 97. I can't remember, it was Poland, I remember it was in Poznan. It wasn't the qualifier where they didn't get in.

Yes, it was. So it would have been in and around 93, 94. Yeah, yeah. Because it was a time when Graham Taylor... Yeah, yeah. When Graham Taylor was doing that. It was when you walked the streets, mum. Oh, that one. What do you mean you walked the streets? She just was pissed off. I was

beside myself that we didn't go through. Was that when Bobby Robertson... It was when it was the Italy World Cup. That was 1990. That was 1990. With Gaza. Gaza. And then the 96 was when we lost on penalties. That was Euros. Yeah. 1990. With Gaza. Gaza. And then the 96 was when we lost on penalties. That was Euros. Yeah.

No, that was, yeah, anyway. I was bereft then as well. I love football. You love it. I love football. Can I, are you finished? Yeah, I am finished. Can I take this away?

Because we're going to have some pud now. Yes, please. If that's okay. Yeah, that's perfect. Now, do you want to carry on with the wine? Would you like a cup of tea? What would you like? I'll have some more wine.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nothing? Yes. Is that rhubarb, Pablo? Yes. Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah, absolutely. You just got, though. I feel like, Ian, you're not sure. No, because when we was younger. Yes. Is that rhubarb, Pavlova? Yes. Is that okay? Yeah, absolutely.

You just got, though. I feel like, Ian, you're not sure. No, because when we were younger... Did you see that? Yeah, it's really good. Just share it with the group. That's a really good observation for me. When we were younger, rhubarb crumble was the one I didn't eat.

Oh, shit. But as time went by, it's fine. I'm fine with it. Just try it. I can't wait for you to enjoy my roasted rebar pistachio pavlova. Nuts as well? Oh, no, you're not... I'm only joking.

OK, now I'm scared, Ian, that I haven't made it. No, because it's not a problem. If I was younger, it would have been a problem, simply because I'm not used to that. Yeah, I'm not used to stuff. I would not eat it at all. This is good. Yeah, it's very good.

I vouch it's good. It's actually just melted straight away in my mouth. There, done. Boom, cheers. What are those nuts? Pistachios. What do you say, Yachayim? Yachayim.

Good things. What's it say? Yachayim, good things. Good things. What's it say? Lachim. Good things. Good things. Life. Like, to life, yeah. Lachim.

So, listen, I'm going to get you drunk enough that you're literally going to give me Roy Keane's number in a minute. And Gary Lineker. He's a good cook. Has he ever cooked for you? No. He puts it all up on Instagram.

He makes banging roasts. My God. Excuse me. We went to his house a little while back. I went with me and Alan. And he'd done a... Shira? Yeah, shira, sorry.

And he'd done a ragu with pasta. I can't remember what... Was it... Was that because he knew you love Italian? Maybe, yeah. Because he asked us what we fancy. I said, yeah, we'll have some pasta. And he'd done it with, I think it was a...

Maybe a rabbit. Oh, my God. Rabbit ragu. it with, I think it was maybe a rabbit. Oh, my God. Rabbit ragout. I'm not joking. It was amazing. Jesus. And every time you see him, I've seen him when we do match of the day.

I say, guy, what are you cooking on Sunday? And he'll always have something, what he's going to cook. Yeah, I'm just going to do a lamb joint or I'm going to do this and that. But again, he's somebody. But it's, again, he's somebody that when he's doing it, he's doing it as if he's, it's for the queen.

Yeah. It's amazing. He's very good. Let's talk about your acting career. Shall we? Because it's actually a friend of mine, Daniel Kamiya.

You were in the new Netflix film. The Kitchen. The Kitchen. Oh my gosh. How was that? You were in the new Netflix film. The Kitchen. The Kitchen. Oh my gosh. How was that? You were the DJ. It was. The radio DJ of the estate.

Yes. You know what, Jess? I'm sweet. I don't know how you guys do that because it's so daunting. I don't fucking act. I sing. Yeah? I don't act.

Would you act? Would I? I think my sister would kill me because she's an actress. Yeah, but what about her? I don't act would you act would I I think my sister would kill me because she's an actress but um yeah but what about because

I don't know like I feel like you I mean like I guess I perform on stage but then that's like you performing in front of thousands of people it's different when they say action

and all the words did you get the fear honestly all the words that I've been staying up till three and four in the morning trying to get it in my head trying to say it out loud

so I was like as soon as they said action, I was like... It just went out of my head. Harder than taking a penalty? It's harder than anything, because you've got loads of people there waiting on your performance. And, you know what I mean, I'm so pleased. I didn't have dialogue with anyone else, which I don't know if that would have been easier or harder.

But, like, in the end, Daniel had to have a chat with me and say, listen, you know the words. Relax. Get into what this is about and the oppression and what's going on. And I remember he took me back to when I was a kid and how wronged I felt when I was arrested for nothing and put in a cell for hours just for no reason.

How did you feel? He said, put yourself into that guy. How for no reason. How did you feel? He said, put yourself into that guy. How did you feel? How did you feel there? Was that right? Was it wrong? How did you feel? And then as he's saying that to me, you just start to get back into,

you get into the character of that. I said, wow. I said, is that it? Is that how acting goes? And he said, yeah. Maybe he's a great director. He is a great director because I don't think I would have been able to do that if someone doesn't come over

and give me that insight into where I need to be to try and do this. And like acting again is something that, it's not something I want to do simply because,

Jess, it's so difficult and it's so important to get it right. You don't want to, there's so many actors out there, so many actors out of work, there's so many actors

I'm sure that they could have chosen for that. All the reasons he said he wanted me to do it. No, they wanted you. He's a massive Arsenal fan. Massive Arsenal fan. Is he? Daniel, yeah.

I didn't realise that. And you're adored. He said, you're an uncle. You're an uncle, people. Look up to you. You're the person that people would expect to get that kind of advice from. Because that's one of the things

I was worried about more than anything else. It's not like I'm trying to say, oh, I'm taking people's jobs. But if there's an actor out there that can portray that role better than me simply because of who I am and the fact that Daniel knows me and he thinks I can do it,

I felt a lot of pressure making sure that I did do that so as people didn't say that and he doesn't get accused of that. So once he gave me that kind of direction, it felt like, yeah, it was. It was really kind of like made me relax a bit more. Who do you think's been your very favourite footballer in all the years?

Maradona. Maradona. Maradona was flawed. Did you ever meet him? Yeah, yeah. Did you ever have a good night with him? No. No, I didn't have a good night with him.

Food? I probably would have stayed clear of a night with Maradona. God, that's what went up his nose, I didn't have a good night with him. Food. I probably would have stayed clear of a night with Maradona. God, that's what went up his nose, I think. It wasn't even drink, was it? No, Mum, no, it was not. Do you think he played football high? Yes. Absolutely.

Did he play football high? Definitely. Yeah, probably. Did you not watch football high? Definitely. Yeah, probably. Have you not watched the documentary? No. Oh, my God, it's brilliant. Oh, I should watch it. Yeah, but you say that, you know, and it's, yeah.

I'm sure there's a lot of people that's played football high and drunk, Len. Did you ever go to training or to a football match a bit hungover? No, because I wasn't that guy. I wasn't the drinker. You know, my mum drank a lot when she was younger. I saw that. My brother drank. My older brother drank a lot.

And he's not a good drunk. My brother, Morris, is a great drinker. He's unbelievable. And if I was going to be somebody that drank to that level, to that excess, I'd like to be like my brother. But I've seen too many nasty things. And people, they change under alcohol. And it's even worse in the dressing room it's such

a toxic masculinity in there and you know i mean things just get escalated so quickly in a dressing room and then when you go out for the night out with the boys and things get you know on on drink it goes to somewhere else so i've always been very wary of alcohol like that. What's that taste? It's so nice. Is that the nuts? I don't know. What did you get? What was it? It was um... Was it a nut or was it rhubarb? It's nut but it's like it's just staying here. It's like... Maybe the pistachio.

Is it the pistachio? Maybe. Have another go. Is it this one? Yeah. Is it the pistachio? Yeah. Okay. Little roasted pistachio with the cream Jesus

you just stopped me in my tracks see now that's food isn't it food if you're eating the right food it stops you

in your tracks the rhubarb tastes really nice oh good if I'm going to talk about this and on to another subject we need to ask you

your last supper so you are where are you going on a desert island you're going somewhere on a desert island. It's like your desert island dinner. Where you're not going to have, well, maybe you can find a Wilson there and play for it.

You'll get an old coconut and kick that around. So, okay, you're going to a desert island. You're not going to have any of your comforts. You're not going to have any of your delicious things. What would be the last supper that you would have? Starter, main, pud, drink of choice? Let me see, because it's a really good question. And I'm just going to try and be totally honest.

Starter? The starter. Would it be oysters from the cow? I'd probably start with oysters if I'm going to tell you this. Fabulous. You know something? I do like lobster. Do you?

How do you cook it? No, I like it when it's like, you know, Thermidor all the way through. I like, yeah. Bit of cheese on there. Just, you know, anything like that. And if they're going to do it because it? No, I like it when it's like, you know, Thermidor all the way through. I like, yeah. Bit of cheese on there. Just, you know, anything like that. And if they're going to do it because it's the last one, I'd say, yeah, go on then, put some cheese,

work yourself out. Where have you had a good lobster Thermidor? I had a good one in, let me see, Scots. Oh, I love Scots. Yeah, Scots in Mountain. I think the best lobster I've ever had was in St Kitts. St Kitts, when they got it out of the... They got it out there, chucked it in the oven,

put it on the griddle. Yeah, but thendle that is really quite I always feel really bad about that we went to Qatar and me, Gary me, Gary Neville and Roy Keane we were having a meal and then I said yeah I fancy some lobster but then they went

out and they brought it in I don't see it moving around so they showed me it and then I was like oh god and then all the time I meet, I can't see it moving around. Yeah, you're like... Yeah, so they showed me it, and then I was like, oh, God. And then all the time I meet... So I can't enjoy that. No. Right?

So, like, what I'm saying is, just to save my wimpiness about it, is just, I don't want to see it being done. You'll have lobster Thermidor. Fair enough. You know, so I'd have probably lobster Thermidor. Okay. You know what I'd like to have? Main.

Yeah, my main would be... I remember my mum used to make ackee and saltfish. Oh, I love ackee. She used to make, do you love, I loved it. It's like,

it's such a mysterious thing because it's a vegetable and it tastes like scrambled egg. Yeah, it looks like scrambled egg. Did you love it when your mum made it? I loved it because she made it so well

with the ackeys which does look, it looks like scrambled egg, just the yellow bit and then you put the saltfish in that with all the spices and the onions and everything that goes in it with fried dumplings. When would she make that? She'd make that probably on a Saturday morning.

That'd be a Saturday morning. It'd be a treat. That would be. Yeah. It'd be a treat. So I'd have that as a main, you know, because yeah, that's, yeah, that's quite nice. And then. Any sides?

You know, no, you know what? I'd probably have, you don't really have sides sides? You know what? I'd probably have... You don't really have sides, but you know what? You've got ackee, darling. Yeah, but you can have fried dumplings or boiled dumplings. So you normally, if you're having breakfast with it, you can have fried dumplings. But if you have it maybe in the evening,

you'll probably have boiled dumplings and boiled bananas. Obviously, because I'm so used to that kind of food from a young age, that was probably my favourite when I was younger. i'd probably have that drink of choice you know what i'd have i'd have a guinness punch have you ever had it yeah had it at carnival what you put it in i don't i don't have a good one obviously it's made it's made with guinness condensed milk you could put all sorts of stuff in it um cinnamon, nutmeg, you know, egg yolk and stuff like that. And then you mix it up with the Guinness, with the sweetened milk. Like I say, the nutmeg, cinnamon.

And it's just funny, my stepdad made it amazingly. He really made a nice one. And probably for a dessert, I'd have the sponge with jam on top, with coconut, with custard. Ian Wright, I could have you here forever. Yeah, stay. You are exactly the same, but actually even better. It's nice, man.

It's nice to be... You know what? This is what I like. This is my vibe, man. This is how I want to be. This is the kind of thing I want to do, you know what I mean? Just chilling. Because people have got a massive misconception of me simply because some opinions or what they think

they know of me what do they what do you think I just think that I'm an aggressive um how does anyone think no no no because like I've got very forthright views in what I think about wrongs and rights and I'll pull it out there and some people think that you know they like to say you're woke you know you've got chip on your shoulder it's everything you know, they like to say you're woke. You know, you've got a chip on your shoulder. It's everything. You know what I mean? Some of the stuff that comes, like I say with social media, like I mentioned at the start with the poetry, it comes and, you know, you have to stay away from it

because it will, it taints you. It touches you. But I think that first move you made when Gary was suspended and you said, right, I'm not playing anymore. I had to do that. You did it. You were the first one and everyone followed you. Yeah, but you know what we're like, Len?

It was wrong what they were doing to him. It was completely wrong. It was wrong. I know that Gary does stuff where he skates the line. But I thought that. And you know what? I'm not saying that it's something that I'd done because, oh, I'd want someone to do that for me.

But in the moment of what they were doing, that's such a lovely taste. In the moment of what they were doing and what they were trying to do to him they were wrong yeah and what happens is that if you leave people when you know and right-minded people leave people to do things like that that's when dangerous things happen yeah i agree so if gary liniker gets gets suspended or gets thrown out for that what else are they going to go on to do that's wrong so if you stand up to them then they realize oh you can't do that they will stop but you have to do it but it was because because of you starting it out and then obviously you can imagine that you can imagine the stuff that came with that but then that's the collateral damage of speaking the

truth i mean you say people think this of you and probably because you have a lot of trolls and horrible people. But what we know and what we've always thought is that you are fab, wonderful, honourable, fun, best smile ever. And you've entertained and we love you on our screens and we love that on our screens,

and we love that you're going into food. It's just kind of, I can't wait to see where else you go. Film, food, hot sauce. Do you sing? It's funny, I was singing Elvis in the car because like my mum used to love Elvis. She used to love that song, It's the Wonder of You, but I don't sing. I just only used to sing.

Do you do karaoke? No, because like it's really tough to get up there, and then if I'm not going to be singing exactly every tone of Luther Vandross, I feel terrible. Are you a perfectionist, Ian Wright? No, but if I'm going to get up there and do it, I want to do it where it's

not going to be questioned. You want to sound like Luther Vandross. Yeah, otherwise I don't want to get up there. You know what I mean? Because like I say, I don't drink enough where I get Dutch courage to go up there. If I'm going up there, I'm probably sober and know what I'm doing. And if I get that wrong, I just, I would hate that. I think you're a very brave person. You have to take the chances.

And this is why with the acting, as much as I felt how I felt about, am I taking someone's job? You feel those things. Then if that's the case and you're going to do it, then do it. So as you can justify doing it and never be afraid of like doing something new. It's like when I was playing football and they wanted me to do that television show on interviewing people and music guests and that. I said, yeah, yeah, I'll do it

because you have to do things that kind of take you out of the norm. You know what I mean? I remember David Dean at Arsenal saying, it's immoral he's doing this i say what are you talking about it's immoral i mean that kind of craziness but like the thing is you have to test yourself and do other things you know i mean you might fail but then i'd rather fail and not have tried and it's it's something you hear people say but it's the truth who do

you think's going to win the euros ian do you think we've got a chance massive chance really massive chance yeah but you're an optimist, I feel like. No, but the thing is, yeah, but I'm an optimist. You are. I'm an optimist, Jess, but the thing is,

we've got... He's a realist as well. You think we're going to win every time, I think. We've got fabulous players. No, no, you know what it is? I will always... Jude Bellingham.

Jude Bellingham. You know, Cobby's just got in there. Cobby, yeah. Declan Rice, Harry Kane. Foden. My Marcus. Saka.

Your Marcus as well. You know, Bram Frey's just got in. John Stones. Trent might be there, hopefully. Dunk, defending. You like Dunk from Brighton? Yeah, I think he's good.

The only thing is, Jess, it's not like I'm an optimist because of the calibre of player we've got. I'm going off the back of, if they go to their potential, just like Germany do, France do, we can win. And that is what you always, that's what I put my marker on, the fact that if we perform how we would

perform and if I was playing in that team what I'm going to bring, if everybody else brings that, then it's going to be very tough to beat us and so that's why I

will always be optimistic. Declan Rice, we've talked about him. Exactly. How could I forget that? Oh my gosh, it's a

crime, but that's why I would say we've got a very good chance. But you know, I'll say it here first. I think Germany have got an unbelievable team. Really? You're saying maybe put a bet on both of them. Hold on a sec. Germany was an old team.

Have they got younger? Yes, because they've gone through... The last World Cup, they were... So all the young boys have come up. They're starting to come through. They've got some players now. That's why they were cut, wasn't it? No, last time.

Iffy for them in the last time. Yeah, weren't working out for them. But now they've got a team that again. I've not seen them play at all. If they click, if they click, they're going to be a problem. Oh, they can't beat us again. I want it for Gareth. I want it for Harry.

I want it for you. Ian Wright, thank you for being on Table Manners. Thank you so much. And please come again. It's your time. Bring the guys. Bring the guys. you. Ian Wright, thank you for being on Table Manners. Thank you so much. And please come again. Yes! I feel very flushed. I don't know whether it's because I've been in the presence of Ian Wright or that I've drunk a bottle of wine.

Well, he is football royalty, darling. He's amazing. He's just such a delight. So lovely. And hopefully, for all those footballers that listen to this podcast, you no longer need to feel scared about coming on the podcast. We know what we're talking about. Ian Wright has paved the way for all of you to come and join us

in New Cross or Clapham. Ian Wright, what an amazing, amazing man. We just scratched the surface. I know. And I loved looking at him. Oh yeah, I bet you did. Very Prince-like. He is regal.

Yeah. He is regal and great fashion sense. Yeah. Great. It was really cool. So cool. Yeah. Just lovely.

But his face when I gave him the rhubarb he literally gulped i could see he kind of worked around it and then yeah bless him i know um i have to say a little combined effort mum it was very good darling yeah it was a very good pavlova i have to say also shout out to georgina hayden because i think i saw her do something like this on night sunday brunch and i didn't copy it but i saw her do rhubarb and pistachio and i think she had rose petals i didn't have rose petals but um it was inspired by something that you put up and so thanks george um and thank you to willie's pies and uncle righty for absolutely delicious pies uncle righty they gorgeous. You couldn't make that as nice, could you? To be honest, the pastry was fab.

Big lumps of chicken. It was fab. Gorgeous. What a gorgeous afternoon. Now I've got to go and pick up my kids. Okay. Thank you to Imright for coming over, for bringing lunch, and for sharing a bottle of wine with us.

Okay. Did you think my mashed potato was okay? Very good, Mum. I did add a big knob of butter, though. Well, I didn't. I did. Because I didn't know what was being added, but also I did it with potato ricer.

Oh. It makes all the difference. Instead of using a hand blender, it makes it too elasticated. Yeah, use the potato ricer. It's the best thing I've bought for mashed potatoes. It's really good. Thank you so much for listening.

And we'll see you next week.