SPAR DAY
ARE SPENCER MATTHEWS, HANNAH SPEARRITT AND HELEN SKELTON PUNCHING ABOVE THEIR WEIGHT?
You can always rely on Sport Relief to convince celebrities to try out a new challenge for charity – but even so, we’re surprised any of them would put their valuable faces at risk!
Nonetheless, six stars – ex-footballer Wayne Bridge, reality star Spencer Matthews, singer Vanessa White, actress Hannah Spearritt, broadcaster Helen Skelton and Love Island’s Camilla Thurlow – have been training as boxers for this year’s telethon, and they’re almost ready for the ring. We caught up with Helen, Hannah and Spencer to see if they’re boxing clever…
How is training going?
Helen I thought I was relatively fit – but I was wrong! Boxing is really hard. I felt like I’d been in a car crash for three days, I could hardly move. Hannah It’s very tough – I set myself targets like “I’ll do five times a week” and then my body’s screaming! Hopefully by bout night, I’ll be there. And
I’ve always wanted a six-pack, so hopefully I’ll get one now! Spencer I’m trying to spend as much time in a ring as possible instead of running, cycling, training with pads and stuff – to actually experience the feeling of fighting so that you can manage those adrenalin levels.
What do you make of your opponents?
Spencer Wayne’s an exprofessional athlete who has represented England, so is clearly very competitive and sporty. So I’d say that I would be the underdog in people’s minds, but one should never underestimate the underdog. Especially not in a two-dog race! Hannah I’ve never met Vanessa, but she seems absolutely lovely, so I think we’ll be a good match. I’m excited to get in the ring with her.
How competitive are you?
Helen I keep saying I’m not, but I must be – otherwise I wouldn’t agree to do it, would I? I just don’t want to make a fool of myself. I want Phil from England Boxing – who has been coaching me – to be like, “Girl did good, she did us proud”. Spencer I’m extremely competitive. If someone beats you at something fair and square, then of course that’s fine – but the feeling of losing is one that just doesn’t sit particularly well with me! Hannah I’ve got a competitive streak, yeah. Maybe not as much as Spencer! But I’m not going out there to get battered – I’m going out there to win it!
Have you all been working on your boxing personas?
Hannah I have. I won’t tell you my name yet, because I don’t know it! But I will have one. I think it adds to the whole drama because it’s going to be such a spectacle. The team have put such a great amount of time and thought into the whole thing, so I think it’ll make sense to have a character and a name rather than just Hannah, which is a bit boring.
Spencer We’re just finalising our kit and the names and stuff. I quite like ‘Spencer the Dispenser’, but we’ll see! I believe my outfit is black and gold, which is fun and fitting I suppose. I might come out to Beethoven. The Driscolls – who are coaching me – are keen for me to be as calm as possible, so perhaps a good classical piece. It might throw people off a bit as well, like “What’s that posh kid doing?”. It’s worked well in the past!