Paddy: “It hurts I was never able to help my mum”
The comedian opens up about his childhood, married life with wife Christine and the impact his children’s autism has had on his family
He’s the funnyman known on TV for his cheerful demeanor, strong Bolton accent and cheeky catchphrases. But in a rare moving interview, comedian Paddy Mcguinness has shown an uncharacteristically emotional side to him.
Speaking to his pal John Bishop on his new interview show In Conversation With… the Take Me Out presenter, 44, reveals one of his biggest heartaches.
Welling up, Paddy said, “Growing up, even though we had nothing, I was always happy. It was just me and my mum. I never lived with my dad, but I used to see him at weekends.”
THE REAL HERO
Paddy – who was raised by his mum Pat after his parents split – added, “As a child, I loved it when my dad turned up because he’d buy me a toy. I thought my dad was the best thing since sliced bread because we’d go out and have fun, and the rest of the week you’ve got your mum going, ‘Have you done your homework? You’ve got to go to bed…’ She’ll be instilling the rules and you’re like, ‘Oh God, my mum does my head in – I wish I could live with Dad.’
“As you get older, you realise who the real hero was, and that was my mum. I’d always be clashing with her, because she was the one setting the rules – and thank God. She always used to say, ‘If you live with your dad, you’ll end up in prison’ – and I’m pretty sure I would have done. My mum and dad have both passed away now, but it doesn’t sit easy with me. When I’d become properly successful and made a good living, my mum had already passed away [Pat sadly died in her sleep in 2004 aged 64]. She’d had nothing all her life and it still hurts that I was never able to treat her.”
Paddy’s personal life hit the headlines recently after he was pictured arm in arm with All Saints star Nicole Appleton in February. Reports claimed his marriage to wife of seven years Christine – mum to his twins, Penelope and Leo, five, and daughter Felicity, 22 months – was under strain and that the pair briefly split.
But Paddy and Christine, 30, have since put on a united front and the father-of-three admits that things have been difficult, especially as two of their children have autism – and he suspects his youngest child may have the condition, too.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability, present from early childhood, that is characterised by difficulties communicating and forming relationships, as well as experiencing the world more intensely than others.
DIFFICULT DAYS
Recently, the condition made the news when Love Island contestant Niall Aslam left the show because he has Asperger’s syndrome – a disorder on the autistic spectrum – while new Hollyoaks actress Talia Grant spoke out last week about being the first autistic woman to land a role in a UK soap.