If there’s anyone who summons more laughs than comedian Jack Whitehall, it’s the people who created him – his parents, Michael and Hilary Whitehall. Since 2017’s Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father, Michael and Hilary have become stars in their own right, hosting their hit podcast, The Wittering Whitehalls. Now, they open up about grandkids, beach etiquette, and being the original “nepo parents”.
What’s the key to a happy and successful marriage?
Hilary: Pick your battles. My mother said to me on my wedding day, “Do not let the sun go down on an argument.” We’ve always adhered to that.
Michael: I don’t think we ever have arguments.
H: That’s open to interpretation.
You’ve teamed up with easyJet as beach rangers. What are some of the most annoying beach habits?
H: For Michael, it’s those boom box things. He hates listening to other people’s music.
M: I also loathe sand. I don’t like people who I don’t know. I don’t like seeing people half dressed. People look better when they’re dressed in a shirt and tie. When they take all their clothes off, it’s always a disappointment.
What is something you do on holiday that gets on the other’s nerves?
H: I have a lot of difficulty getting him out of the bedroom usually.
M: Hilary!
H: Not in that way, Michael Whitehall.
M: How dare you mention personal stuff.
H: The other thing that drives me mad is that Michael only reads non-fiction. They’re always hardback and enormous. Just as I get the case packed, out come books the size of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
M: Hilary’s main problem is that she’ll make friends with somebody on a beach who was just walking past.
H: I love a chat, I love people.
M: I’m not saying I don’t like people, I’m just not really looking for new friends if I’m sitting reading my book.
Will you be doing your beach rangering duties on your next holiday?
H: Absolutely. It was the perfect partnership with easyJet Holidays. We worked so well as beach rangers. Michael is up with a megaphone, and I go round and actually have a conversation with the people.
How’s Jack taken to fatherhood?
H: Like a duck to water! Jack and Roxy [Horner, Jack’s girlfriend] are super parents. Jack’s particularly good at dancing with Elsie. He’s got those snake hips.
M: I used to dance with Jack a lot when he was a baby, and he’s now doing the same.
Does he ever get jealous of your popularity?
M: I don’t think he does.
H: We will admit that we are the original nepo parents here. We ran with it and sort of carved out our own niche.
How would you describe yourself as grandparents?
H: He’s Gramps or Grandpa and I’m known as Gramza, because my children call me Mumza. The grandkids are all very different. We’ve got three-year-old Peggy, who is going to rule the world, and then there’s her little brother Woody, who looks like a rugby player. Then there’s Elsie, who’s like a little dolly.
What makes your podcast so successful?
M: Hilary does all the talking, whereas I just come in and make a few deadly remarks.
H: I think what people love is the fact that we are a long-married couple. We argue, we bicker, and we quite often disagree. It’s like watching their grandparents or parents.
Who would be your dream guest?
M: If he were still alive, I’d go for Winston Churchill.
H: I would love to have met the Queen. The previous Queen.
What else do The Whitehalls have coming up this year?
H: We will be going out on tour, and then Fatherhood With My Father is coming out. Our other son, Barnaby, also got married last summer, and they’ve just moved back to London. I’m looking forward to spending time with them, because we haven’t seen much of them since they got married.
M: They’ll probably be busy having babies, no doubt.
Michael and Hilary Whitehall have been appointed as Beach Rangers by easyJet Holidays to tackle beach botherers. To find out more visit easyjet.com