Joe Swash features on Dave Berry’s Dadpod where he talks about reconnecting with his eldest son, coming to terms with his late father’s death, and feeling “broody”.
Actor, presenter, King of the Jungle and ice-skating champion Joe says he did miss out quite a lot of his son Hal’s growing up and also lives under the shadow of his late father, who he calls “an amazing man” but admits he didn’t get to know him very well.
Speaking to Dave about missing out on part of Harry’s Childhood, Joe says: “With my first child, Harry, there was a period where mine and Harry’s mum’s relationship affected my relationship with him.
“I didn’t get to see him for a period of time, so I missed out on quite a lot. Now, me and my son Hal, we spent all the time together. He’s, like, my shadow. I love him, but there was a period where I just couldn’t see this happening in the future. So, I did miss out quite a lot of Hal growing up, as a baby.”
Harry is now 13 and he and his friends went to watch Joe in each episode of Dancing on Ice and Joe says that it filled him with joy seeing Harry being proud of his dad.
His other son Rex is growing very quickly and Joe says that he’s beginning to miss him being a baby, “I’m not gonna lie. I think I might have one more in me, you know? I’m getting a little bit broody,” he admits.
Joe speaks about his late father, saying he “loved him to bits” and it was very difficult going through different stages of his life without a father figure. He says his dad was his best pal and he had so many friends who said to Joe at his funeral that he was one in a million.
“So, I live under this shadow of this amazing man that I didn’t really know very well… I try to live up to what he done for me in them eleven years, with my boys and with Stacey’s boys as well,” Joe says,
“My dad was 39 when he died, and I’m 39 in January,” he says, admitting, “That scares the life outta me, to think that, you know, he was so young… I’m gutted for him that he never got to bring us up properly. He never got to see his grandkids, so I feel so sorry for him.
“But on the other hand, I’m determined that I’m gonna do it differently, that I’m gonna try and be here as long as possible and see my grandkids and see all my boys grow up into being beautiful young men.”
This episode of Dave Berry’s Dadpod is available to download, with new episodes every Thursday from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the Absolute Radio app, absoluteradio.co.uk, and all mainstream podcast providers.
