The Netmums Podcast - S10 Ep1: The Big Farm Rescue with JB Gill

Episode Date: April 25, 2023

It's a brand new series of The Netmums Podcast, and to kick us off, Wendy and Alison's first guest is former JLS star JB Gill, who tells us whether he prefers being a popstar, or his pig Ginger's birthing partner, and talks about his new kids' book, Ace and the Animal Heroes: The Big Farm Rescue - which is released in paperback form on the 27th April.

You're listening to The Netmums Podcast with me, Wendy Gollage. And me, Alison Perry. Coming up on this week's show... That's a huge part of parenting as well, preparing our children to go into a world where they are very much more independent, you know, and they have to form their own ideas and their own opinions. But before all of that... Hello, hello, welcome to a new episode. Today is an exciting episode. I've got a new partner in crime. She is the lovely Alison, who is the social editor at Netmums, and she's joining me to talk to today's guests. But first of all, I want to have a moan. Today is, well, we're recording this on International Women's Day, which is empowering and enlightening and all the women

and this particular woman's having a shit day because it's snowing. There's two feet of snow outside. I had no power until about six minutes before we recorded this podcast. One kid's got croup. The other one's got an ingrown toenail. And quite frankly, I'm sick of being a mom and I'm sick of being a woman. So Alison, join me. Make things better. Oh, I feel your pain. My main issue this morning was that one of my, I've got four-year-old twins, and one of them was really upset because it looked like Christmas outside, but it wasn't Christmas and there were no presents. Oh, bless her. What do you say to a four-year-old who thinks it's Christmas and isn't that?

We just want to explain it's like Christmas. It's not actually Christmas. And we promised her that come real Christmas, Santa would indeed be bringing her some presents. It's like Christmas, but off you pop to nursery, love. I've got a podcast to record. Speaking of which, our guest today, I'm so excited to chat to him. He rose to fame as a member of one of the UK's biggest boy bands, JLS, after coming second on The X Factor in 2008. And 10 years ago, JB Gill set up a farm in the Kent countryside where he lives with his wife, daughter and son. And this move has been the inspiration behind JB's first children's book, Ace and the Animal Heroes. And JB also presents a whole bunch of, you know, animal and farm related TV programmes on CBBs and on Milkshake. So we want to really offer a massive warm welcome to JB Gill. Morning JB. Morning ladies and happy

International Women's Day. Thank you very much. Do you have snow in your farm in Kent today? I do have snow. I have lots of snow. My son is still enamoured of snow. If anytime he sees snow, he wants to get out there and jump about in it. He was up, I think, from about half past six this morning, double checking, wondering whether we were going to have a snow day. Thankfully, we don't have a snow day. They both are at school. at school so yes of course i get to spend a bit of time with you lovely ladies well we've just realized we're almost neighbors so if i disappear lovely listeners it's because my internet has gone and the power has gone and i'm going to jb's where it's warm so just carry on without me allison okay yeah we'll just wing it don't worry it's all good it's all good

um but yes snow days is one of those things jb where it's like great for the kids but not so carry on without me, Alison, okay? Yeah, we'll just wing it. Don't worry. It's all good. It's all good. But yeah, Snow Days is one of those things, JB, where it's like great for the kids, but not so much for the parents. So I think this morning, up and down the UK, I think a lot of parents were just praying that schools and nurseries were going to open as planned. Yeah, exactly. I mean, my daughter's well-trained.

I mean, she's four and she'll take or leave the snow. She likes the idea of it. But the reality of going out in there, getting your tights wet, all of that sort of stuff, not for her. So she's just like, it's OK, I'll stay indoors with you. My son, as I say, on the other hand, he absolutely loves it. He's always loved it. So I don't think we're going to change that anytime soon. Right, JB, first question. I want to ask, pop star, turkey and pig farmer, it's quite a leap.

Were you on stage bashing out harmonies, secretly you know harbouring a desire to embrace farm life where you were winning Brit Awards or was it just something that came to you? I don't know, I'm a pop star, I'm going to be a farmer now. How? It wasn't as dramatic as that, no. It wasn't a case of being on stage, winning Brit Awards and then deciding I was going to go into farming. But when I left my family home, which I think was around 2010, 2011, I moved to where I am now. And obviously initially it was just a house to live in

and there was about 15 acres of farmland, which my mum encouraged me to get along with the house. And originally I wasn't going to get it because I was like, you know, obviously it's great to have land, but what am I going to do with it? And it did become a bit of a headache in the first few years I was living there. I was still traveling a lot, hardly ever at home. But one of the reasons why I moved here was because, you know, days off didn't come very often. But when they did come, it was nice to be able to chill out and relax and, you know, just go for a walk and not even have to worry about, you know, the hectic hustle and bustle of the city and traveling and JLS and all that sort of stuff. So it was almost like a, I guess, a safe haven. That's how it began. And then over the years, especially once JLS came to an end, it was a

case of, you know, putting that space, that land that I had to good use, you know, and still combining that with, you know, I guess my entertainment work, still being involved in television. And it just kind of, I guess, had a different focus. So doing down on the farm and stuff like that, we did a lot of the filming here. and over the years as I say just we looked at different types of things that we could do here what the land had been used for previously you know the previous owners didn't farm it but they had horses and things like that and as much as I love horses and I grew up with horses it wasn't something that I you know it wasn't something that I wanted to you know undertake at this time so we looked at how we could farm it, really.

And that was kind of how the seed was sown, if you excuse the pun. But yeah, I mean, it's been a great foundation for kind of my post JLS life, if that makes sense. How did you even begin to, I mean, obviously you bought the house, you had the land. But were you on YouTube, you know, searching how to start a farm? You can't be as bad as Jeremy Clarkson. That's what I've got to say. I definitely wasn't as bad as Jeremy Clarkson. And to be honest, I had my dad to help me initially. So it was him that brought the first animal to the farm. So Ginger, who's one of the characters in my children's book, sadly, she's no longer with us anymore, but

she was the first animal that we ever had on the farm she was rescued you know which we're very very proud of and my dad was like yeah yeah so um you know i know you at the time i was looking for a dog again i was trying to rescue a dog and you know kind of thinking to myself yeah cool we've got all this space it'd be a great life for them you know give them their forever home and so on and I went to a place that worked alongside the RSPCA and they sort of look after you know rescue dogs and look after dogs you know some of them with trials and stuff like that all that you know that sort of sinister stuff but they basically were saying if you want to have a dog you know come and have a look anyway didn't go home with a dog that day but my dad decided that it was a good idea to bring home a pig so we literally had a pig at the house I had no idea

what to do with it I basically said to him as most parents say to their children if you're going to have one it's not just for Christmas you need to look after it and unfortunately as with most parents telling their children about their first pet, I ended up having to take on the responsibility. No, I'm only joking. Obviously, we both worked on it initially, but that's kind of how it started. And, you know, we had a first litter of piglets with her, which was an incredibly traumatic experience in a sense that I had never, ever experienced birth of any kind. Certainly not human birth, definitely not animal birth um and it was it was just hectic you know I'm running around I called the vet like three four times um they probably thought I was actually absolutely crazy because why am I calling them you know just to see a pig

give birth and obviously at the time I didn't know that pigs are quite you know quite self-sufficient animals so they'll just get on with it unless it's like a you know real emergency um they'll just get on with their own thing and do their own thing um and yeah it was it was very much eye-opening the mental image right now it's just a great mental image of you and a pig trying to help it well I almost thought I was gonna die because anybody that knows anything about pigs i i genuinely did i jumped i went i went into the um the pen obviously you know ginger bless her was you know um you know making lots of different grunts and sounds that i hadn't heard before and i went into the pen you know she obviously under normal circumstances she is the nicest

calmest animal she's you know rub up against you she's brilliant and she literally went headlong into me and as I say I almost thought I was gonna die I jumped straight out of that pen and then I called the vet as I mentioned and it was all fine she was brilliant and I learned very quickly that you know mothers go especially you know female pigs go into protective mode whenever they have any sort of young and it you know everything will be fine eventually but as I say it's definitely a learning curve a steep learning curve I had to pick up very quickly. I have to say JB this really isn't the usual kind of birth stories that we get on the Netmoms podcast how does this compare with the birth of your children like you know would you describe them in a similar way?

You know, the noises that your wife was making? To be fair, I mean, especially with Ace, Ace was relatively traumatic. So similar in the sense that, you know, it was very much out of our control. I think Chloe was in 30 odd hours of labour. You know, we ended up having to have an emergency cesarean. So that was very much unexpected you know we she'd had a great pregnancy so she's really looking forward to going you know the birth plan going to to according to the plan and that didn't happen and you know it was definitely I was a lot

calmer less frantic but you know it was definitely a nerve-wracking time and as I say you know ended up in an emergency cesarean so you know that was something that we both had to come to terms with I think a little bit but then similarly you know with my daughter Chiara that ended up being a planned cesarean which you know as you'll know is completely different it's like chalk and cheese night and day where you had sort of the high drama and the unknown with with Ace with Chiara it was kind of, okay, Mr. and Mrs. Gill, come in here, sit down, get ready. On your scrubs, off we go. Exactly.

And it was nice. After having that experience with Ace, it was nice to actually have, you know, a positive birth experience with Kiara, you know? Yeah. So it feels like you've had, like, the highs and lows of births, whether it's pigs or your children, you've seen it all.

Exactly. So you grew up in Croydon, JB, which is pretty different to the countryside your kids are growing up in. Was that something you and Chloe thought was important when you were looking for somewhere to settle, that you were in the countryside, that they could have the outdoors around them and not be in the city?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think it was quite as explicit as that. But for me, you know, I grew up, like you say, in Croydon. But before that, I spent sort of my early years, my formative years in the Caribbean. So, you know, I've still got very strong ties to the Caribbean. Both my parents, my mum's from Antigua, my dad from Guyana so you know both come from from Caribbean first generation parents and you know I've still got lots of family there so I've definitely had I guess that appreciation of the countryside where your food comes from you know that community sort of spirit very much

embedded in me as an individual and as much as at seven or eight years old, you know, when you're getting dragged around Kew Gardens on your summer holidays, it's not exactly the most exciting thing. I think, you know, even trips like that with the family that, you know, we used to take in our holidays, you know, really stuck with me. And you don't necessarily appreciate them when you're younger. But, you know, as I've gotten older, it's definitely something that I've appreciated more and more and like you said you touched on there you know having my children growing up around this sort of environment where you know you're depending on your neighbors and you know you're interacting with you know people in the local community and you know they're able to experience everything that happens not just in in on our farm

but you know in the countryside and within wildlife as well and how those things, you know, mix, you know, I think is really, really important. And for me, as I say, like, you know, we grew up in the city, but we always had that connection with the countryside, you know, and the connection to our food especially. And that kind of drove a lot of the, I guess, the reasoning behind, you know, establishing the farm and doing what we do in that respect.

Now, you're entering what I call the golden age of parenting. And I think that it's those lovely few years where things often start to feel a little bit easier as parents. But before you hit the teenage years, which I haven't hit yet, my eldest is 12. But anyone with teenagers is like they always tell me just you wait just you yeah I get that but how have you found dad life up until now like what's been your favorite stage so far I mean all the stages are different it's really difficult to pick any one stage but I think um I've absolutely loved being a dad you know and it's definitely something that I you know I knew that when it

happened even sort of when I was in the height of JLS and before children are even you know a conception I I knew that I'd really enjoy it and it's one of the reasons why actually I didn't particularly want to have children whilst I was in JLS you know and I always knew that especially in the early years you know you can't get that time back you know and so to be able to be around just little things like taking them to school you know if I'm ever at home yes I still do travel and and so on for work you know um you know with what I do but actually when I'm at home and sometimes I can be at home for a couple of weeks at a time or whatever you know I want to take them to school I want to go to their you know classes I want to go to aces football

take kiara to gymnastics and you know go out for daddy daughter days or whatever it is that's going on you know and for me I think that those those moments are really really important and you know as they get older like you say I think those those moments get fewer and and that's just that you know a natural part of them growing older and and developing their own independence. But I think for me, the age that I love, I've experienced so far is probably around about three where they're still quite dependent on you,

but they're expressing themselves and their thoughts and their wishes. And they come out with the funniest things. The videos that I've got of Kiara, I mean, she looked like a four-year-old when she was two because i hear so long so yeah i've got videos of her where she's you know been to nursery and she's copying the teacher and telling chloe and i off and you know it's just amazing to sort of look back at those videos and just see the characters just being you know beginning to form and and then developing but you know similarly you know ace is

now at the stage where he's kind of found his thing, found what he loves, and you get to share it on a different level now. It's less me sort of taking him to stuff or myself and Chloe taking him to stuff and encouraging him to do stuff and more, no, I want to do this and I want to share this with you, Dad. Do you know what I mean? So, yeah, there are some amazing moments all throughout the years. So you were talking about not wanting to have kids when you were on tour,

but there's some fairly huge news that you've just announced that you're doing a reunion tour for JLS later in the year. I have got so many questions about this. Like, I don't even know where to start. Farming, presenting, writing, dadding, touring. How how are you gonna prep for this and how's it going to be leaving the family at home well the the long story short is that we have to start prepping now because we're not 21 anymore but I'll definitely be in the gym I'll definitely be uh riding on my peloton yeah and and then then we go into rehearsals probably about a month before we actually embark on tour, which is October the 20th, I think, the first day in Dublin.

But yeah, I mean, it's definitely an adjustment, especially when you haven't, you know, when we haven't toured for so long. And I say so long, two years isn't that long, but in touring terms, it is certainly for us. But yeah, you know, it's always been one of our favourite things to do, you know, getting out on the road, meeting the people who've been supporting us and buying our music and, you know, coming to see us and been to all the tours in the past as well. So for us, it's nice to be able to get out on the road and share that moment. And it's difficult because, of of course you're away from home but actually especially with a UK tour this one's a UK and Ireland tour we've we we tend to manage it because obviously everyone's got kids now and so on and obviously for me I've got the farm as well so we try and work it so that if

we're away we're away for a few days at a time rather than for weeks at a time and even on the last tour to be honest and I think with this tour as well it falls in this you know similar time around about the October half term so I'm hoping that the kids will be able to come out for a few days and actually be on the road with us which is exciting for them but also great because it kind of cuts down that away time you know. I'm guessing that they're obviously you know they've been on tv shows with you and they'll be aware of what you're what you do in that respect but do they do they know much about like daddy the pop star they don't know a great deal but obviously they were allowed to come to the last tour and my daughter in particular I wasn't

sure how she'd take it because she she's never seen anything Ace had seen a few little bits and pieces and you know um when when i think he was two two and a half chloe and i did a show for itv called dance dance dance so he was obviously on the you know on the road with us at that time and we lived out in amsterdam for about three months so um it was he was part of that whole process so he was involved in that and got that and saw you know kind of that that showbiz side of what I do um but Kiara took to it you know like a duck to water she absolutely loved seeing us on stage um they've got a good relationship of course with the other boys and their kids as well so having them all you know all out on the road and coming to shows

was amazing if you've all got all of you and all of your kids like at least you're at the stage where you're not mortifyingly embarrassing to them yet some of the guests we've spoken to who have got like you know famous alison and i 11 12 where you're just starting to be utterly hideous to them imagine like you lot all up on stage and all the kids in the background going oh my god they're so embarrassing yeah well we've definitely not got to that stage yet I think on the last tour they we brought them up on stage actually just to kind of share like a picture moment with them um and we had tears when some of them had to leave the stage so I don't think that's going to be on the cards for this tour because we probably will never get them off um I think that'd be very wise but I mean do you know what it's one of those things it's just it's always well it's

obviously always been part of my life and you know I'm I'm trying to encourage them that this is it's part of our life now you know I try not to hide them away from it you know and we've all like Chloe and I have always been quite conscious of protecting them at the same time you know making sure that it's a reality for them because Because, you know, as an example, I take Ace to football, you know, and I walk into sort of the foyer before he goes and, you know, plays his game. And there's parents in there who've like traveled from other parts of the country and obviously seen me for the first time and, you know, been blown away at the fact that I'm standing in there, you know, next to their kid and my kid's going to play football against theirs. So, you know, I'm often taking photographs and saying hello to people that,

you know, I've met for the first time. But as I say, I try and encourage both children to embrace that and to recognise that for what it is, because, you know, it's always been part of, you know, my work. I think it will, you know, always will be. And I always say to people as well, you know, if people are asking for photos and and stuff then it means I've done a good job whether in a past life or in this life you know whatever it is you know it's it's it's a testament I guess to the success and and to the appreciation I guess that people have had for me as an individual but of course for me as part of JLS as well. Yeah absolutely so. So let's talk about the book. It's so exciting that you have written a children's book. Is that something that you have wanted to do for a while?

Yes. I mean, it started, the idea started before Ace, so it's probably over eight years old, you know, and I always wanted, I've always enjoyed writing. I grew up enjoying English at school and reading lots of books. My mum was very much an average reader and she always encouraged me to read. And we've got all sorts of different books with all sorts of different authors that I've read over the years. And even as I sort of went into my late teens and went off to university, I studied theology. And so for me, it was one of the subjects that I could do where I didn't mind writing essays, and I didn't mind, you know, reading and researching the material in all these books. And, you know, I think expressing myself through writing has been something that I've really, really enjoyed. And, of course, I did

that partly, you know, through the process of JLS with, you know, writing our songs and things like that. And, you know, deciding to do a children's book, I think, happened maybe a year or two before we called it a day in 2013. And I didn't really have any ideas of like what I would do or how I would do it. And then as sort of things started to fall into place here with the farm, that's how, you know, sort of the idea for Ace and the Animal Heroes came about. And over the years, it's developed, you know, of course, having Ace then and him getting older and, you know, the book changed. It really started sort of as a rhyming book, you know, more like a sort of picture book. And now it's, of course, going to be, you know, a book that's going to be for middle grade readers, which is exciting. And what I love about it is that even though it started, you know, around about the time that Ace was born,

it's now a stage, of course, where he can actually pick the book up himself and read it, which is just amazing. You know, it's it's kind of real. It feels like a real full circle moment for me and something that I'm incredibly proud of. So how important was it for you to write a children's book with a mixed race main character? Well, for me, you know, I always think that the best fiction is based in reality. So for me, of course, you know, having a child that's, you know, of mixed race origin, and to an extent, I mean, I'm of mixed race origin. So my mum's from Antigua, my dad's from Guyana, although it's Caribbean, you know, in general, of course, you know, I have got two very different cultures there. And so, especially in this day and age, it's really important for children to feel like they're being represented. But that wasn't the

main aim, you know, of this for me. For me, it was about expressing kind of, you know, how I have felt, how I grew up, you know, taking inspiration from the things and the people around me. As I say, at the early stages, you know, Ace was one of the main inspirations in my life. You know, it's like when you have children, you know, they take up so much, especially in those early days, you know, and your mind is always occupied with what they're doing or where they're going or, you know, whatever it might be. So that was definitely the foundation for it. And for me, you know, whatever it might be. So that was definitely the foundation for it. And for me, you know, it felt like something that I could build upon

and something that could develop into a fantastic story. And, you know, there were obviously lots of made up bits in the book, but there's also lots of, you know, reality, as I say, that I draw from the personal experiences, from Aces experiences, from family experiences, from, you know, the farm experiences, whatever it might be, you know, all of that's kind of been drawn together and then thrown into the book now do you have memories of being read to as a child like what were your favorites when you look back at your own childhood what are the books that you look back on and think you know they

really hold a special place in your heart I always loved rhyme when I was growing up. So I had lots of poetry books, Janet Allberg and, you know, all of those sorts of authors and writers. For me, those things really remind me of my childhood. You know, as I say, I used to love to read. So when I was at primary school, I was always in the library, you know, picking up books, taking books home. I'm not ashamed to admit that I definitely kept a book or two from the library that I should have

probably taken back. So please accept my apologies, any of the librarians. But I honestly, you know, I loved it. I couldn't be torn away from a book when I was younger. And as I say, my parents in particular, you know, used to read to me when I was younger, but also encouraged me to read, you know, my mom, especially, she loves to read even now, you know, and she's always asking me to get Heather Newley child this and whatever else. So, you know, those are things that I've, you know, those are, I guess, you know, principles that I've been, you know, growing up with, but also have been instilled in me. And I want to pass down to my children. And I remember when Chloe was pregnant with both kids, you know grown up with but also have been instilled in me and I want to pass down to my children I'm and I remember when um Chloe was pregnant with both kids you know I used to read to them when they were in you know in her tummy um you know I know that you know sound is one of

the hearing is one of the first things that develop you know in a fetus so for me you know just them but them firstly being able to hear my voice and and to establish that bond you know as early as possible but also for them to to you know I guess hear storytelling you know I don't know how early you know the science of it I'm more arts than science but you know for me it's definitely something that I love to do and helps me feel connected to both of them you know during that process so um so yeah you know as I say for me it's really really important to encourage reading and and you know I obviously want the kids to enjoy this process as much as I've enjoyed it you know I saw on Instagram that your daughter dressed up as Matilda for World Book Day

yes so they obviously love books as well what do you reckon to all this Roald Dahl business and him being edited to make him more inclusive? Well, I mean, obviously it's an ongoing debate. And I think... Debate being the polite term for it. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the thing is, you know, as with any debate, if we can call it that, you know, there are pros and cons on both sides.

You know, and I obviously, in the process of just bringing it back to me and the book, you know, in the process of just you know bringing it back to to me and the book you know in the process of me writing this there's been lots of things that i've thought up or you know i've put into the book which has then been edited through my editors you know and for me i think ultimately the purpose of an editor is to to contribute to the book to make it the best possible version of that book of course you know roald dahl isn't with us anymore. So it's, it's not quite the same relationship in terms of the text, but, you know, I think, you know, any decent writer, any good writer will want that for their book, you know, and you're working with people who you believe are the best in, in, you know, in your business, in the business, um, to be able to

help you to come up with that, with that process. So, you know, I obviously can't go into depth on Roald Dahl specifically, but, yeah, you know, I think at the end of the day, it's not going to be one right answer or one wrong answer. And I think, you know, ultimately you've got to kind of see, well, as I say, I think you've got to trust the people that you're working with um who've been doing this for many many years as well my 11 year old has absolutely taken the bait and is incensed and is collecting all of her roald dahl books and like putting them in a chest

she's like mummy these will be worth something to preserve them for christ's sake at least you do not burning them no no she's fully on the they must not be changed line of things but the thing is i mean ultimately it's like television isn't it you know you can portray anything however you like ultimately but i think that i think the contentious issue is that you're you're speaking to some of the youngest minds you know and we know that especially you know especially with young children they're incredibly influential so ultimately you want them to have as broad a perspective as possible but you know this is kind of the first time they're going to be reading the first time they're picking up any sort of book and you know going through chapters and stuff like that so you know it's i understand as i say both sides of the coin you know and and both arguments so you know it I understand as I say both sides of the coin

you know and and both arguments are relatively strong it's true I think it's also a really good talking point with older kids is to say look you know this is this is the discussion that's happening right now around these books that you are reading or that you have read and just have that conversation around it is is really a really helpful thing to do as a parent absolutely absolutely I think it's it's definitely a um like you say a great conversation point especially with older children as well because they'll understand the ins and you know the ins and outs of it that would probably be lost on my daughter of course because she's she's four turning five whereas for your 11 year old you know that's that's the prime time you know they're

about to go off she's not already at secondary school no we found out last week my baby's going to mine is at secondary school yeah she's gone that's what i mean literally and and for me i think that's a huge part of parenting as well preparing our children to go into a world where they are very much more independent you know and they have to form their own ideas and their own opinions. And, you know, I think, you know, we can all respect individual opinions, you know, regardless of whether you adopt them or not, you know, but also, you know, you want people to express themselves creatively. And I think, as I say, that's one of the reasons why you can kind of see,

you know, the pros and cons on both sides. So you mentioned before you're getting the biggest learning curve when it comes to farming but i want to know what's been your biggest learning curve when it comes to fatherhood always exercise patience that is definitely my um my go-to and i thought he was going to say always exercise the children well they do that themselves well someone once told me when i was pregnant that if i i had I thought he was going to say, always exercise the children. Well, they do that themselves. Well, someone once told me when I was pregnant that if I had girls, but they were like, if it's a boy, you have to think of it like a Labrador.

You have to exercise it twice a day for at least half an hour. I was like, OK. And in fairness, it works with girls, too. There's no differentiation. I don't know. I've definitely noticed a difference between boys and girls. You know, Kiara will sit down and she will focus on a task for an hour at a time. No problem. And she's always done that. With Ace, Ace is actually very good. So he's not, if I can say it, you know, a typical boy in the sense that

he's like, you know, roaring around the house and wrecking everything sort of in his path. But he'll focus on a task for maybe 10, 15 minutes and then he'll be like, right next what's going on he's looking for something else you know i mean so they are different different in that sense but with both of them as i say you know just to go back to what i originally said you know exercising patient i think is really really important because you know and i just use a

very sort of loose example in the sense that when you when you know when they're growing old and you're teaching they're pleased and their thank yous and whatever else and you know they'll just try and take something and totally forget you know when you when you i guess persist but do so in in in a in a very loving and kind way we're not not telling them off but you know just encouraging them you know to do it or whatever actually even though it doesn't happen on day one those sorts of things are going in do you know i mean and actually it's like with anything if you're learning and you know one of us is learning a new skill we're not going to get it on the first time we try it but actually if you've got someone who's

nurturing who's encouraging you who's helping you one day it does click and when it clicks it's brilliant it's beautiful so um you know just exactly and in everything you know of course they're at school now and aces get into that stage where you know he's sort of prepping for senior schools and all that sort of stuff and you know just helping him to sort of do his work and stuff can get you know can get frustrating because i did it a completely different way when i was at school he's learning a completely different way then we're sat down trying to do his homework he wants to do his way i want to do my do you know i mean but actually ultimately we're going towards the same you know the same end the same result and you know you want him to be able to flourish so ultimately just I have to remind myself you know if I can be patient

you know and if I can just continue to you know do my best to get my message across without being too forceful you know as I say eventually it clicks and sometimes someone else says exactly the same thing you've been saying for about five years and then it's like oh yeah mummy daddy someone said to me to do this and I'm like that's what I've been saying for the last however many years but um yeah so last question before we leave you in peace, which of the many hats do you enjoy wearing most? Obviously, dadding comes first. But after that, farmer, pop star, author, TV presenter, pig birthing partner, which is the one? Well, I'm going to say I'm going to say writer because that incorporates two. So obviously the songwriting is part of JLS

and writing books. You know, as I say, I grew up loving writing, you know, loving to express myself. And it's great that I get to do it, I guess, in a different capacity now. One of my favorite things being in JLS is that creative process in the studio, coming up with something from scratch. And then all of a sudden it goes on and it's being played, you know, on the radio stations and, you know, receiving accolades and all that sort of stuff. And, you know, here, you know, obviously you never start that process with the, the aspiration that it's going to be that, but, you know,

with writing this children's book is the same thing, you know, being able to create it from scratch, like put my ideas onto paper, you know, see how that develops, you know, even be able to do, being able to do do the audio book that was so exciting because i do a lot of vo for my my tv work but actually incorporating that into to what i'm doing here for the book as well was fantastic um you know and seeing that whole creative process coming coming together from you know um rebecca moore coming doing um the uh illustrations obviously editing the book as i say voicing the book all the different characters you know for me i think that's that's something that is almost all-encompassing do you mean i get to do all the aspects of things i love um through one one avenue

so i'm gonna go with writing ginger will be disappointed in you she makes a cameo so it's all good and with that it's time for us to say goodbye i was gonna ask you for a little blast of eyes wide shut but i won't make you sing to us i need the other boys next time you have to get us all on and we can do like a group one oh that would can you imagine trying to field all four of them it would be like we'd be like this thank you so much for joining us JB it's a pleasure to talk to you and considering the terrible start to my day you've cheered me up no end thank you yes thank you Jamie excellent and happy International Women's Day ladies