Jeff Brazier: ‘I make Bobby packed lunches for Strictly’

Jeff Brazier doesn’t let his son Bobby’s starring role in Strictly Come Dancing lead him too far from the comforts of home – the doting dad makes him a packed lunch every day to fuel his energy-sapping dancing.

“I’m not ashamed to admit I’m still making packed lunches for Bobby,” says TV presenter Jeff.

“He’s burning about a million calories every day, so I just feel what I can do to help him and Dianne [Buswell, Bobby’s dance partner], is to make sure they go in with a big Tupperware container full of stuff that’s going to fuel them.”

Jeff, 44, who has brought up Bobby, now 20, and his younger brother Freddie, 19, since their mother Jade Goody died of cervical cancer in 2009, is bursting with pride for his sons – and not just because Bobby is doing well on Strictly, while also starring as Freddie Slater in EastEnders.

“You look at Bobby now and what he’s doing on Strictly and think, ‘Wow, this kid has really hit the ground running, doing a really good job’,” says the delighted dad. “We’re obviously very proud of him and really love watching him embark on this very early path.”

He says Freddy, who is still in education, hasn’t worked out what he wants to do with his life just yet, and “I’m certainly not rushing him”. But although following the rest of his family into showbiz “wouldn’t necessarily be the most natural thing for him to do”, Jeff has no doubt his youngest son has all the qualities he needs for a great life.

“His emotional intelligence is absolutely through the roof,” Jeff explains. “He’s an incredibly caring and considerate individual – everyone loves him.

“He has lots of amazing qualities, and I see them as any adult does. Sometimes it’s about your kids taking their time to work things out like that for themselves.

“So when he realises that actually, he’s got everything he could ever possibly need about him to be a really good person and lead a really lovely life, then that will be a beautiful moment.”

What isn’t beautiful at the moment, however, are the boys’ bedrooms. Freddy and Bobby both still live at home, and their dad admits: “I don’t think there’s any chance they’re going anywhere just yet. They’ve either both got it too easy, or it’s because it’s just lovely living together.”

But despite his best efforts, like many teenagers and young adults, their rooms often leave a lot to be desired as far as tidiness goes.

“I spent years and years really pushing for them to clean their rooms and be on top of those sort of habits because I value the importance of having that self-discipline and care for your own environment,” Jeff explains.

“But it’s funny because no matter how much I’ve done that, they’re still prone to just leaving it in an absolute mess at times.

“I now feel it’s just part of a choice for them. Personally, I’ll always suggest if you’re on top of your bedroom, you’re on top of your head as well. Bob’s started to get it – but don’t get  me wrong, the insides of his wardrobes are a joke, and every now and again I pull it all out for him and leave it on his bed – that’s my way of suggesting he should probably look after that.”

Jeff says Bobby seems to think taking his laundry downstairs to the washing machine is “a foreign step that he hasn’t quite worked out yet”, just like watering his plants. “Bless him, he spent a couple of quid on some really beautiful plants for his bedroom, because Bobby’s incredibly spiritual and he wanted something living in his space. But they’re not living any more, they didn’t get watered enough.”

And as for Freddy’s room – it can be a tip one day, and a pristine palace the next.

“Fred is a man of polar opposites – it’s either the worst thing you’ve ever seen or it’s an absolute miracle where you almost want to ring up the Guinness World Records and say, as far as 19-year-old’s bedrooms are concerned, should he be able to be this tidy?

“He’s a man of flow, and when he’s in it it’s a miracle, a joy to behold, and when he’s not he’s not. But the times when he wants to be helpful, which is a lot of the time, he takes it to levels that I’ve not seen with other people. So I’m very proud of him for that.”

As the boys live at home, communicating with them is usually face-to-face, although, like all young people, they still send their fair share of texts and WhatsApps. Jeff recently spent time talking to students at the University of Hertfordshire as part of Sky Mobile research into communication between generations, which found more than half (57%) of 18-24-year-olds admit they ignore calls from their parents.

“I wondered whether my kids have done that to me, and also, whether I’ve done it to them,” he muses. “I can imagine I’ve probably done it to them as many times as they’ve done it to me!

“There’s still times where you feel like the communication could be better. I think your kids are always learning – I’m 44, and I’m still learning. It’s for us to show them the best way around everything, and I make sure I’m having big conversations around them so they can see what a good conversation is, whether that’s on the phone, leaving a voicenote – they’re still listening.

“They don’t tell you that they’re learning from you, but they’re certainly watching – that’s definitely something I’ve learned.”

But he adds: “I thought there was a chequered flag at 18, someone was going to come in with a bouquet of flowers and say ‘Well done, you’ve completed parenting!’. But actually, it’s just getting started…”

Jeff Brazier has teamed up with  Sky Mobile to get students’ top tips for parents on how to keep in touch through mobile phones, made easier with Sky Mobile rolling all unused data into one Sky Piggybank for all on the account to share.