Cringe all you want, we all fall into the parent trap

It doesn’t take much for your parents to embarrass you when you’re a teenager but it’s fair to say special derision is reserved for dads. “Dad jeans” (the uncool ones that double as armpit warmers),“dad bod” (a polite term for fat) and “dad dancing”(flamboyant dance moves to pop music by middle-aged men) are just some of derogatory terms to enter the lexicon of naff.

When I was growing up, it was my father’s lack of self-consciousness that had my toes curling. He thought nothing of hanging up on my friends if I took too long on the phone and he had a habit of turning restaurant chairs upside down to check if it they were made by the furniture company he managed.

I laugh about it now but back then anything that made you stand out was horrifying. So spare a thought for Chloe Madeley, daughter of TV golden couple Richard and Judy.

Over a million viewers tuned into This Morning every day for the thrill of wondering “what will Richard say next”? It’s fair to say it’s not a thrill Chloe shared, having to listen to her dear old dad over-sharing to the nation. But now Chloe is getting her own back by presenting a new podcast with her own husband in which they recount intimate details of their marriage. She tells us on pages 6&7: “I had to put up with my mum and dad through my teenage years, so they can suck it up!”

What shines through in our interview, though, is how much Chloe loves her mum and dad. And they must be proud that their daughter is following in their footsteps. It goes to show that no matter how hard we try, we all inevitably end like our parents.