It’s been a busy few months for Peter Andre, having welcomed his fifth child – daughter Arabella – with wife Emily in April. And, if his hands weren’t full enough, he’s just released new children’s book Super School Kids And The Baby Alien Rescue.
The Mysterious Girl singer, 51, who is also dad to Amelia, ten, and Theo, six, with NHS doctor Emily, 34, as well as Junior, 19, and Princess, 17, with ex-wife Katie Price, certainly has the credentials for it and he tells us the story was inspired by the tales he’s told his kids over the years…
How are you finding life as a dad of five?
I’ve always bonded with all my children, but with Arabella, I made sure I had some quality time with her from the day she was born. So, I stopped all my work to enable me to be with her and Emily, because this is our last time – or so we keep saying! I didn’t want to miss the moments with Arabella that I lost with my other kids. More importantly, being at home has allowed me to spend more time with all the kids. It’s been really special.
We hear Emily has strict rules at home – no phones or TV allowed at mealtimes…
She is very good like that. At mealtimes, she makes sure we all sit together and talk – no distractions. When we first told Princess and Junior about our new house rules, they were horrified. But after about a week, they just got it and now they never watch TV or go on their phones while we eat. It’s a real bonding opportunity for us. Emily is quite strict about it, but she’s right – we were both brought up this way.
Junior and Princess are now flourishing in their own careers. Are you hands on when it comes to helping them?
I am, but I tell them that doing a job for two or three weeks isn’t work. You have to graft all of the time. The thing about me is that I’m always pushing them to be the best at one thing – not everything. Most of all, I am proud of them as people, and the way they are. They are both very kind to others. One day soon, Junior will be leaving home, and I have to come to terms with that. Princess, she’s a home girl – she’s not going anywhere soon.
You’ve also been busy working on your new children’s book. What made you want to start writing for kids?
These books are inspired by the stories I used to make up for my kids. When Junior and Princess were young, I used to make up stories for them, and when Amelia and Theo came along, I started making up stories about space travel because I’ve always been a huge fan of sci-fi. I was brought up on films like ET and my favourite is Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. I believe in UFOs and my brothers were convinced they had seen them. I have so many ideas for more stories like this and I would love to turn them into an animated TV series – I’m convinced kids will love them as much as mine do.
Does Emily ever read your books to the kids?
Emily is more traditional – she reads them things like The Gruffalo. But my thing has always been to make up my own stories, and this is how the idea for my own books all started.
Finally, can we expect to see you back on our screens any time soon?
I’ve just completed my first feature film that was shown at Cannes, so you will be able to see that very soon. I am also getting to write the songs for the movie.
