I want my mid-life crisis to go on for 10 more years
Politician turned reality TV star Ed Balls tells Rick Fulton why he’s having more fun than ever
ED BALLS is having a ball and wants to stretch a decadelong mid-life crisis for a further 10 years.
Since the former cabinet minister left politics in 2015 after losing his Labour seat to the Tories he’s not looked back.
The following year he became a favourite on Strictly Come Dancing, climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2019 and this year won Celebrity Best Home Cook.
He’s recently completed his sailing practical and theory exam, made a lot of bread (the edible kind) for the family and taken up yoga. He has trained a vine on a pergola and written a foodie memoir, Appetite.
He insisted: “You’ve got to take these chances when you can.
“For some people the phrase mid-life crisis can feel like a negative, but actually I’ve just been loving mine and I’ve kept it going for a good 10 years now – and want to keep it going for another 10.
“I’ve been having two piano lessons a week (during lockdown) just because I really enjoy it. I’d never thought about climbing Kilimanjaro, but when they said, ‘Do you fancy climbing Kilimanjaro with Little Mix and Dani Dyer?’ I thought, ‘That would be great.’”
His only regret is not being around enough for his three children with Labour politician Yvette Cooper.
He and his wife became the first couple to be appointed to the cabinet, when Gordon Brown became prime minister in 2007.
They spent a huge amount of time travelling on trains between Castleford, Yorkshire (Yvette’s constituency is Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) and London.
Ed, 54, admitted: “I regret that I wasn’t around enough when they were actually quite keen to have me there. The irony is that by the time I was around a lot more, they’d got to the age when they weren’t so sure they were that bothered.”
Ed was work and pensions secretary and shadow home secretary but after losing his seat had the opportunity – twice – to try to win it back. Instead he is happy with his new life.
He said: “My preferences have been to carry on making TV programmes and writing books and doing new things.
“We were in government for 13 years. I was at the Treasury for eight years and ended up being in charge of schools and children’s policy. It was the hardest and most important thing I’ve done.
“I miss that, but I don’t miss being in the House of Commons and shouting across the despatch box. I don’t miss being in opposition. I’m not hankering to go back and rejoin that.”
While he entertained us with his Gangnam Style on Strictly he has kept a foot in the political world with his 2018 BBC series Travels in Trumpland which explored the rise of populism, racism and identity.
The Norwich-born,
Nottingham-raised all-rounder is making a BBC documentary about the social care crisis, working in care homes in Yorkshire, taking part in everything from personal care to karaoke.
It seems Ed can get important messages across without being party political. After Strictly he was worried he wouldn’t be able to do anything unless it was fluffy so he rang Jeremy Vine, who’d done the show the previous year.
Ed said: “He said it was easily the best thing he’d ever done in his life and had never stopped him doing the serious interviews on his Radio 2 show.
“He said, ‘If you want to be governor of the Bank of England it might be harder, but other than that you’ll be OK.’”
He was spot on. Given Ed’s win on Celebrity Best Home Cook it was a no-brainer he’d have a book on the way.
Appetite is dedicated to his mum “who taught me to love cooking … and my dad, who taught me to love eating”.
Appetite by Ed Balls is out now.