■ HUGH JACKMAN

has spoken about his close relationship with his late father and how emotionally hard it was filming scenes in his new movie, The Son. Jackman’s father died while he was making the film, which is about a troubled teenager’s relationship with his dad. Jackman said: ‘My mother left when I was eight, so my father raised us. He taught me really great values. A lot of who I am today is because of him.’

I’ve no doubt that it must have been incredibly painful to lose his father, but I hope he can take some solace in having had such a wonderful relationship. So many other men, unfortunately, cannot say the same. All too often, families split up and the father drifts off, but the damage caused by this loss of a role model can last for ever. I’ll probably get pilloried for saying it, but after seeing troubled young men for years, my conclusion is that young boys need a father.