Despite the fact he’s been up since 6am with his nine-month-old daughter Arabella, Peter Andre is on surprisingly good form when he answers the phone.
Though maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise – the 51 year old has been entertaining fans since the ’90s with hit singles such as Mysterious Girl and UK No.1s Flava and I Feel You. And although he concedes that he was ‘a bit arrogant’ at the start of his career, he’s weathered many a scathing headline – often in reference to his ex-wife Katie Price, mother of his son Junior, 19, and daughter Princess, 17 – and maintained his nice guy image throughout.
It’s no wonder, then, that Pete continues to be busy 30 years after starting out in the entertainment industry. In fact, he tells heat that his extensive schedule next year – which already consists of heading on tour with The Best Of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons, a film, more music and a ten- part murder mystery series he’s sworn to secrecy about – means that his ten- year anniversary plans with wife Emily MacDonagh, mother of Amelia, ten, Theo, eight, and baby Arabella, might have to be postponed…
You’re a pop star, reality star, author, actor – when fans come up to you, what are they most likely to want to talk about?
To be honest with you, everybody always wants to talk about my family. And I think that ‘family man’ is probably the greatest thing you could be known for. When everyone stops and goes, ‘I love your family, I love the way you guys are’, it means a lot. Back in the day, people would know me from music videos and newspapers, now everyone knows me because of social media. I get kids coming up to me going, ‘Oh my God, you’re Princess’ dad!’ Or, girls will go, ‘Oh my God, you’re Junior’s dad’.
So, are your kids more famous than you now?
Nearly! Girls used to come up and say, ‘I love you’, now they come up and say, ‘My nan loves you’. I’ll take it! At gigs now, we have people of all ages – those who used to follow us in the ’90s, plus their kids and their friends and then their parents. So, the crowds are more diverse and that’s really cool.
How do you feel about Junior following in your musical footsteps?
As long as he works hard for it, I think it’s great. My kids can be given opportunities, but unless they work at them and are good, they mean nothing. Theo wants to be a doctor, because his mum is one. He might be given a bit of a leg up by seeing what his mum does, but if he wants to do it, he has to study hard. That’s my message to the kids – opportunities will come and go, so you’ve got to work hard.
And Princess is an influencer…
Princess is brilliant. She’s a very driven, very shrewd young girl. She knows what she wants. Junior does, as well, but Junior is also a teenage boy and loves to hang out with his friends and his girlfriend, whereas Princess is always thinking about work opportunities. That drive is the same drive I had as a kid, so I’m grateful they’ve got my management team – who I’ve been with for over 30 years – to help guide them.
How has your household changed since becoming a family of seven?
It’s a beautiful thing, I had my first child at 31 and I’ve had my last child at 51. And that is my last child. Twenty years of having kids! It’s been an amazing experience, but I think what happened this time is that I realised this was our last one. I never had a limit before – it was always that I’d love to have five or six kids, but I know now this is it. At 51, the lack of sleep feels a little different than it did at 31.
How are Junior and Princess when it comes to babysitting duties?
Princess is excellent, and Junior is really good at picking the kids up from school when he can, but actually my little Millie is the ultimate at looking after Belle. She comes downstairs in the morning and she takes her, she walks her around, they go and play – she’s honestly fantastic. Going back to what you were asking me before, back in the day if someone had said, ‘What do you want to be known for?’, it would have been ‘pop star’, but what I would love now is ‘family man’.
How are you feeling about touring with The Best Of Frankie Valli? Will Emily and the kids join you at some point?
They will. It’s bittersweet – it’s a great opportunity, but I’ll miss everyone like crazy. Emily is so understanding, though – she encourages me to take these amazing opportunities.
Were you a Frankie Valli fan before you decided to join the tour?
I love Frankie Valli. It’s a full circle moment for me because I did Grease in the West End, and Frankie Valli sang the song Grease from the film, even though it was written by The Bee Gees. So, I get to sing Grease, but in a different show.
It’s yours and Emily’s 10th anniversary in 2025. Any big plans?
We were thinking of going on holiday to Santorini, where we went on our honeymoon, and taking the kids with us. I know it should probably just be the two of us, but we like to do everything as a family. Although, maybe 2025 will be too crazy to do stuff, because there’s a lot happening for me with work. We’ll organise something, but we’d like to do it all together as a family.
Would you say you’re a romantic person?
Yeah, I am a romantic – I feel proud about that. I think that, when I was younger, I was a bit cringe and a bit like that guy who was on the most recent series of Married At First Sight UK? Luke? The one who said, ‘I eat with my eyes and my eyes are full because all I can see is you.’ I love him, but it was a bit much.
Are you into your reality TV, then?
Yes! It’s funny, because I never used to watch it, I used to be on it. I’ve done I’m A Celeb, I’ve done Strictly, but I never used to watch them. Emily is really into The Great British Bake Off and I started watching that with her and soon became addicted. On that note, Emily’s baking is unreal and she’s baking all the time at the moment, so I’m loving life! The other show that got me into reality TV was Married At First Sight Australia. It was so good, that I started watching the UK version this year and I’m hooked – it’s excellent. As well as watching the relationships, it’s really interesting to see the dynamics between some of the guys and girls, and how girls will often see a girl’s point of view and guys will more likely see a guy’s point of view.
There’s not much that you haven’t done in your career. You’ve even written two children’s books. Any more planned?
This is what I tend to do – I get all involved in something and then I have to put it aside and work on other things before I come back to it. I’ve got two books out at the moment and they’re part of a series of books about different planets that this group of kids visit.
Do your own children ever request them as a bedtime story?
I actually wrote the books based on the stories that I tell them at bedtime.
Would you say that you’re a cool dad?
I’m a cringe dad, but I’m also a cool dad. I get dad points when I’m doing stuff like introducing them to the Teletubbies or doing something on Britain’s Got Talent and they get to meet Amanda Holden. I am cringe in some ways with my jokes and stuff, but then I’m cool in other ways because of all the stuff they get to do thanks to my work.
What have you learned about yourself since you entered your fifties?
I’m definitely a lot more patient. I actually think I’ve become a much better person. I think in my twenties, I became a bit arrogant and then having kids was the start of the journey of me getting better. Then when I lost my brother when I was 40, I think it just completely brought me back to being that kid again. I don’t take things for granted any more. I think I’ve become like I was when I was a teenager, where I’m just chilled and things don’t really bother me that much. I just love the simple things like sitting and eating chocolate and watching TV with my family. Now I’m 51, I’ve chilled out a bit.
Tickets for Peter Andre: The Best Of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons are available at fourseasonsshow. The show is on a UK tour from January to March 2025
