TELLY presenter Paddy McGuinness has revealed he and estranged wife Christine still spend Christmas together for the sake of their three children — despite their break-up.
The pair, who announced their split in 2022 after 11 years of marriage, still live together in the family home.
TV presenter Paddy McGuinness says there will be a ‘nice vibe’ in his household this ChristmasCredit: Rex
Christine and Paddy at the 2019 NTA Awards in LondonCredit: Getty
But in an exclusive chat with The Sun on Sunday, telly presenter Paddy said: “I feel for people who separate. Separations are a tough experience for anyone to go through.
“So if you can come out of it as friends and still get on and do the best for your kids, it’s a bonus.”
Asked if he and Christine spend Christmas Day together, Paddy, 52, replied: “Of course, because both of our families are our children’s relatives. Our children are always happy to see all of our family.
“Luckily for us it’s a nice vibe in our household so there’s never anything where the children feel anything negative whatsoever.
“I think most parents who have separated want what’s best for the children.”
Paddy and Christine announced their separation in a joint statement that said: “Our main focus as always is to continue loving and supporting our children.”
The former Top Gear presenter added: “We’re lucky in a sense that our kids see us laughing and joking at home and there’s never anything in front of the children that causes any problems.
“It can’t always be like that, but thank the Lord that’s our situation.”
Of their plans for Christmas, he said: “Friends and family come to the house and see the kids.
“Then, Christmas Day, we just have a quiet one because that’s how my kids love it.”
The BBC Radio 2 host and model Christine have three children — 12-year-old twins Leo and Penelope and daughter Felicity, nine.
Like Christine, all their kids have been diagnosed with autism.
Paddy added: “With my twins, when they were born, we couldn’t even have a little Christmas tree because it was too overstimulating for the children.
“Now, at our house, we’ve got the tree lit up, we’ve got little ornaments that play Christmas jingles.
I was laying in bed with this book and I looked around and I thought, ‘Hashtag winning’
Paddy McGuinness
“It just shows you that if you put the time in with the kids, it’s brilliant.”
In the run-up to Christmas, Paddy reveals he now feels physically and mentally stronger than ever after completing the 75 Hard Challenge.
‘I’m a book person now’
The TikTok regime gets participants to complete two 45-minute workouts for 75 days.
It also involves reading ten pages of a book, sticking to a healthy diet with no cheat meals or alcohol and drinking three litres of water every day.
But if participants do not complete the tasks, they must start the 75-day cycle again.
Paddy said: “We’re not reinventing the wheel — these are basic things.
“But my God, it does work. I feel in shape and I feel strong, but in my head I feel strong as well.
“I’ve never been able to get into books — I would read them but not absorb them.
“Now I’ve become a book person. The other night I was in bed at quarter to ten.
“I was laying in bed with this book and I looked around and I thought, ‘Hashtag winning’.”
Twelve-year-old twins Leo and Penelope and Felicity, nineCredit: instagram
Christine and Paddy with kids in pic posted by Christine in 2020Credit: Refer to Caption
Asked about therapy, Paddy added: “I feel as though getting a little bit of help is a godsend.
“It doesn’t always work straight away and it’s trial and error. You’ve got to try different things — one size doesn’t fit all.
“What I found is you manage things better yourself and you don’t necessarily need the help. It’s great knowing it’s always there should you need it.”
Paddy recently got behind the wheel of one of the new electric HGV trucks from Amazon’s delivery network with reality star Sam Thompson to deliver essential goods to The Brick Multibank in Wigan.
The centre, which Amazon helped set up in 2022, takes surplus products donated by businesses and gives them to families in need.
Paddy said: “This multibank helps 800,000 families out, which is unbelievable — families who literally have got nothing.
It sounds crazy saying it but I remember my first few beds that I slept on, I actually found them in back streets
Paddy McGuinness
“Working families are using them as well. It’s a shame that we have to rely on these places, but thank God they are there for people who need them the most.
“I think the biggest thing for me is the volunteers. These people are just doing it to help — it’s quite humbling seeing those places.”
Paddy lives in a £6.5million house in Cheshire but he and his older brother Tony were raised by single mum Patricia in a terraced house in Bolton.
Recalling his childhood, Paddy said: “It sounds crazy saying it but I remember my first few beds that I slept on, I actually found them in back streets.
“When you’re a kid, you don’t realise. I’d drag them home and say to my mum, ‘I’ve got a bed’.
“My mum did everything for me but she had no money. If any of my friends came to my house who were from a similar family to me, she would always find a sandwich for them to have.
“That’s the thing about working class communities — even though you haven’t got anything, you would still give people the last thing you’ve got to help them out.
BBC Radio 2 host Paddy and model Christine announced their split in 2022 after 11 years of marriageCredit: BBC
Paddy recently got behind the wheel of one of the new electric HGV rucks from Amazon’s delivery network with Sam Thompson
“These multibanks are doing the same thing but on a massive scale.”
Paddy also revealed that he encourages his children to donate their toys to those less fortunate.
He said: “Sometimes with autism, a child might become particularly attached to one thing — it’s theirs and that’s it. But my kids now are really good in that sense, especially when it comes to toys and things.
“I tell them a bit about when I was a little lad and I go, ‘God, Daddy didn’t have a little toy car and Daddy didn’t have this — I wish I could have had this’.
“We have fun with it and we have a good laugh about it.
“My youngest is brilliant. If I go into her bedroom and say, ‘Right, OK, Felicity, there’s some things that you’ve not played with for a long time . . . what about helping some other children out?’
“She gets a big stack of stuff together and then we just take it down to the charity shop.”
Paddy’s big break came in 2001 playing bouncer Paddy O’Shea in Peter Kay’s hit sitcom Phoenix Nights, which was set in a working men’s club in Bolton.
‘I’m not Bob Geldof’
In 2010 he began presenting Take Me Out where he coined his catchphrase, “No likey, no lighty.”
Asked if the popular ITV dating show could return, Paddy said: “I think the TV landscape has definitely changed.
“Saturday night used to be the night for families getting in front of the telly. Programmes like Strictly and Gladiators and all these family entertainment shows still have that magic, which is brilliant.
“I feel as though there’s still room for that because it’s a great thing when parents and kids can watch a programme together.
“So who knows? It is not something which has been touted about, but it would be nice to see it back on the telly.”
In the meantime, Paddy is remaining coy about replacing Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly on the BBC series Strictly Come Dancing after they bow out in the show’s Christmas special.
Asked if he is in the running to host the hit BBC One dance show, Paddy said: “I think they have put everyone in the mix for it, haven’t they?”
In between juggling Christmas with three young children, Paddy hopes to get behind the wheel again to make deliveries.
He said: “I love cars — I’ve got a little Ford van at the house.
“So I said to the people at the multibank, ‘If you need anyone to do any runs for you, I’ve got my little van there’.
“It’s not all I can do with it, but I can get some stuff in there.
“Listen, I’m not bloody Bob Geldof.
“But I think if anyone can chip in and help every now and again, it makes a big difference.”
- Watch Paddy and Sam in action in the new electric truck on Amazon UK’s Instagram on Monday 15th December at 5pm.
