We will definitely have a big wedding
Former Corrie star Faye Brookes on marriage and fur babies with boyfriend and best friend Joe
saturday 27.02.2021
You couldn’t find a more loved-up duo than Dancing On Ice favourite Faye Brookes and her boyfriend Joe Davies. When we catch up with the couple after their first-ever shoot together, they can’t keep their hands off each other.
The former Coronation Street actress – who was partnered with Hamish Gaman until he pulled out due to an injury – has had an incredible experience in the ITV competition show so far and has dominated the leader board.
This weekend, she makes her skating debut with new partner Matt Evers and earlier this week she shared a teaser video on social media of herself and professional skater Matt, 44, having fun on the ice.
Faye twerked alongside the pro skater in a comical video ahead of tomorrow’s Movie Week on the ice.
But despite being the bookies’ favourite to win, Faye admits she’s not convinced she could go all the way.
She said: “It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. And Joe knows how much it would mean to me to win.”
Just over a year ago, Faye, 33, and personal trainer Joe, 27, became friends after meeting at a gym in Manchester. Their friendship quickly turned into love. And although most of their time together has been in lockdown, it’s clear they’re head over heels. Faye said: “Not only is he my best friend, but he’s the best cheerleader.”
Here, the pair – who share adorable pups Bear and Bao – discuss how they met, reveal if wedding bells are on the cards, talk about being each other’s biggest support and Faye’s DOI journey…
Faye, why did you say yes to doing the show?
Faye: I always said I never wanted to do it. I always said my face was my job and I’m scared I might fall on it. But we went through this crazy past year and it was the first opportunity that came up and I didn’t bat an eyelid. Since I said yes, I have completely fallen head over heels in love with the sport. I eat, sleep and breathe the ice. What’s it like watching her skate, Joe? Joe: I only watched Faye once before lockdown and after that I couldn’t go into the rink. So [during her first skate] I was here with the dogs, telling them how well their mummy was doing. I got a bit tearful. Faye: My heart is in this competition now – it’s not just a show. The pressure is on.
Joe: I do my best to remind a certain someone to treat it like a roller coaster. A bad week doesn’t mean a bad show. Is Joe a great support to you through this? Faye: I love his calming energy, it’s something I know I need. I’m so enthusiastic about absolutely everything and he’s very level-headed and grounded. He keeps me very present.
Because you’ve done so well, is the pressure on?
Faye: The pressure is definitely on. I’m a perfectionist and I want the very best out of this competition. I want to do well and I’m quite hard on myself. But my mantra is to just enjoy it and live in the moment, because you never know when it’s your last skate.
Do you think you can win?
Faye: I still don’t believe I can because I honestly think it could be anyone’s. But it would mean everything to win because I’ve fallen in love with the show and the skill.
You’ve been open about struggling with anxiety, Faye. How have you found the past year?
Faye: Lockdown one and two were not great. A lot of things were put on hold, Joe was busier than ever and for me it was really hard. I was in limbo. I feel like my job is my purpose and I started to doubt myself. This time round, in lockdown three,
I’m so glad to have my purpose back again. Not only is Dancing On Ice challenging physically, it’s helping me mentally. Have you struggled with anxiety while training? Faye: It takes your mind off any kind of worry. When you’re not working and not doing what gives you purpose in life, you start to let those voices in your head take over. If I didn’t have my support system, such as Joe, my family and Joe’s family, guiding and comforting me at my lowest, I don’t know where I’d be. I’m very fortunate that I’m with somebody that is not only my best friend and I can talk to, but also opens up back. He’s not your average Joe. He’s not like any other guy – he’s the most mature man I’ve ever met.
Was it love at first sight?
Joe: It wasn’t actually. We met through a mutual friend. I worked at Barry’s Bootcamp in Manchester and my colleague Amy, who used to be Faye’s trainer, introduced us. Faye: He didn’t know who I was when I walked in. I loved that. Joe was covering Amy’s class one day and from then on we were living in each other’s pockets, because we were just friends. All of our friends knew each other. How did it progress? Faye: Our friends started to say, ‘Something’s happening, because no one has ever looked at you the way Joe’s looking at you’. I was like, ‘What?’ He was the best friend I wasn’t looking for and became the missing part of the puzzle. He made my life so much easier. Joe: My parents fell in love with Faye before they’d met her. Friends and family told me I loved Faye before I told her.
Have you ever had an argument?
Joe: It’s human nature to argue. Faye: Every couple has disagreements. But what I love about when we have any sort of confrontation is that we have a mutual respect for each other. We listen to each other. If Joe wasn’t the kind of guy who listened to me, it would be difficult. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship that’s this effortless. Joe makes everything a lot less stressful. There’s been times when I have to leave and Joe is holding the fort at home and taking care of the dogs. It gives me complete comfort to know he takes control of everything and there’s complete trust.
And you’ve got through a year of lockdowns together…
Faye: That definitely solidified us as a pair. There were days where I would fall apart and not know what was going to happen next and you question everything. There’s no one else around but the person you are with. Joe: We relied on each other. Faye: If you fell apart I had you and I had your back. That was so beautiful about the past year and something I will never take for granted again. We were faced with every single challenge you could think of. The first year was like, ‘If we can get through this we can get through anything’.
Is an engagement on the cards?
Faye: I would love to get married and I know Joe would too, but right now we love our lives and there is no pressure. There is enough pressure on the world to get through this pandemic. We’re not rushing into anything. Joe: There’s a huge future ahead for both of us and we’re on our own journey.
But would you want a big wedding?
Faye: Did you see my VT and the closeness I have with my family? I’d always want them to be a part of it, and I adore Joe’s family and we have a great group of friends. It’s going to have to be a big wedding. As much as we’d love it to be intimate and have our parents there as witnesses, there are too many important people in our lives.
Have you spoken about children?
Faye: We’ve got our fur babies and are very career-driven. We have not made any plans. I’ve no idea when that will happen; I don’t want to plan it. Joe: There are other things we’re working towards. There will be a time and a place for everything. We loved you in Corrie as Kate Connor. Are you excited to make a return to acting after Dancing On Ice? Faye: My journey at Corrie was openended so that’s possibly something I could go back to and if there was an opportunity, I would. Who knows what the future holds. lDancing On Ice is on Sunday, ITV, 6pm.
I don’t think I’ve ever been in a relationship that’s this effortless. Joe makes everything a lot less stressful. Faye Brookes
Location has always been important in the hospitality industry. No need to pay Princes Street rates if you are opening a fine dining restaurant. City centre shoppers don’t want a tasting menu, they want a quick blast of caffeine and carbs before they tackle Primark.
Thanks to the pandemic, there is a whole new set of priorities. For takeaways, the most important consideration is where customers can go to eat and drink their purchases. If you are beside a park, ching ching ching jackpot.
If parks are not available, then canal-sides, bike paths, river banks, basically anywhere with a low wall, and without a roof, will do.
On Glasgow’s southside, Crossmyloof Bakery is perfectly positioned to feed the hordes who descend on Queen’s Park on the regular.
It’s housed in The Glad Café, a community enterprise that, pre-pandemic, provided coffee, food, drinks, live music and other events to the brunchers and gig-goers of greater Shawlands. Now they have pivoted to pizzas.
The location is perfect – Shawlands is densely populated with first-time buyers and young families who moved there because they loved the area’s cool café culture. As well as being opposite the park’s famous duck pond, there are a couple of pizzaperfect benches outside Langside Halls, just across the road.
None of this would be any use if the pies themselves were duff. Happily, this is not the case. There is a short menu – four pizzas, two sides, some wicked little pots of gunge for dipping the crusts. There are also drinks which are not gougingly priced, plus Glad Café merchandise for those who advertise their tribal affiliations via canvas bags.
With a limit on three pizzas per order, I patched the margherita. Nothing wrong with tomato, mozzarella and basil, there were just too many other more exciting options. Sadly one of the sides,
little gem lettuce with a double pistachio topping, was not on offer when I did my online order. Rats. But the one I did get, burrata with blood orange, was a belter.
Burrata, mozzarella’s wicked creamy big sister, is one of the things I miss about eating out. I would never think to buy one for home consumption which is foolish, as it would be easy enough to pull off a few leaves of radicchio, chop some walnuts and orange, then slug on top-quality oil.
That’s what the smarty pants at the Crossmyloof Bakery did and it was tremendous. Fresh crunchy bits plus oozing cheese equals deep happiness.
The Teenager and the
Millennial are not bothered about burrata, which suited me fine. They were too busy bickering over the veggie pizza – they all have simple, explanatory names – which neither of them would have picked from the menu yet which they both wanted to finish.
I had to intervene to ensure my slice. It was a thing of wonder, with different wild mushrooms and thyme bringing the savoury top notes. The genius addition was taleggio – all the goo and chew of mozzarella but five times as much flavour. Cured egg yolks, a cheffy ingredient I’d never met on a pizza before, brought a level of richness that took it to the next level.
The vegan was more divisive with the Teenager suspicious of the aubergine and whole baked garlic cloves. There were pickled chillies and parsley on there as well, in case anyone was missing meat’s savoury heft or the soft base note of cheese. It worked brilliantly, a bit like deconstructed baba ganoush on a tomato flatbread.
The chilli rings had me gasping for a cooling mouthful of Primo Rosso Appassimento, a scarily drinkable Puglian red. Presentday me was very impressed that past me had thought to add that to the order.
The meat pizza was the most delicate and green of the lot. The flesh was a few crispy cubes of guanicale, fatty cured Italian pork cheek. It’s strong stuff – intensely salty and chewy – happily mellowed by a cushiony white base, charred leeks, peas and fresh herbs.
In theory I approve of using a small amount of meat as a key flavour. I’m not sure it was completely successful here, the contrast was too extreme. Slivers of a gentler form of pork would have been better.
That’s a quibble – it was still a good pizza. It was all good. The Millennial threatened to hide the nduja mayonnaise and finish it on her own, with a spoon. I felt the same about the wine.
If this is the future of eating out, I’m not cross about it.