`we won`t be having a huge wedding. i don`t want a

the usually guarded footballer lets his defence down
‘we won’t be having
a huge wedding.
i don’t want a fuss’
Below and facing page: ‘We
just like a pretty simple life,’
says Frank of his relationship
with fiancée Christine Bleakley.
Left: On the pitch with his
daughters Luna and Isla
How’s wedding planning going then?
It’s going really well. We are very private about
it, and there were lots of rumours that we were
trying to do a big fancy wedding in a huge place
and that we were trying to buy other people’s
wedding venues, which is completely false. It’s
more a case of getting it right for ourselves.
What can you tell us about it?
Not much! [Laughs] It won’t be a huge big celebrity
wedding when it comes. It’ll just be our own,
quiet sort of thing. People do have big celebrity
weddings, and I’m sure when you’re in those sort
of circles, there’s a lot of people to invite and that’s
the way it goes.
So there won’t be any thrones, then?
Ha, no but each to their own. I don’t want to be
digging out anybody because everybody has got
their own taste. I’m… shy isn’t the word, but I
don’t want the big fuss. As long as it’s a day that
the people that matter most can enjoy, then
we’ll be happy.
England star frank lampard talks about his plans to marry
christine bleakley, dEaling with thE tragic loss of his mum and
why hE prEfErs church and books to nightclubs and flash cars…
t
here’s no denying that while his career with
Chelsea is still in full throttle, their all-time
leading goal-scorer frank Lampard has
been busy off the pitch too, putting pen to
paper for a series of books for kids aged five and
above, which are sure to be at the top of Christmas
wish lists this year. Frankie’s Magic Football:
Frankie Vs The Pirate Pillagers is the first in the
series which is inspired by his own children. frank
says his daughters, Luna, eight, and six-year-old
isla – from his relationship with elen Rivas – acted
as his ‘editors’ throughout the creative process.
here, the somewhat shy and retiring star opens
up about the creative and inspirational process
behind his writing, his family set-up, and why he
and his fiancée, tv presenter Christine bleakley,
34, choose to shun the celebrity lifestyle…
tell us about your children’s books…
it’s an idea i came up with from reading to my kids.
i thought that there wasn’t really anything out
there that was football-based, slightly educational
and fun. as i’ve got older i’ve got more time and
i’ve started to think about life after football.
how hands-on were you with the process?
everything is mine – from the creation of the
characters to the stories to the writing. that’s
why i’m really proud when i talk about it, because
i’ve put a lot of time on my travels and at home
into doing it all.
do your girls read a lot?
Yes, they do. there’s so much going on – tv, iPad,
they want to play games all the time – so you
almost want to lock them in a room for 20 minutes
and say: ‘Read.’ and when they do it, they enjoy it.
i wasn’t an avid reader, but i do now try and take
20 minutes out of a night to read.
We don’t often see you and Christine
in the papers like we do with other
high-profile celebrity couples…
That’s true, we just like a pretty simple life.
We live centrally in London and we love the
area we live in so we’ll walk to our local l ittle
Italian restaurant rather than go out to the
fancy things. We keep our heads down. I get
dead uncomfortable when the paparazzi are
standing there five yards away from me trying
to take a picture. I’d rather not be there.
it sounds like you’re doing everything
you can to give them as normal an
upbringing as possible…
i certainly do. You live and learn as you go along
when you’re a parent. i try to just keep their feet
on the ground. i never try and spoil them, and
it is very important that they learn the basics
of manners, of respect, of money. i’d hate for
somebody to look at them and say: ‘they are spoilt
little brats.’ that’s my biggest nightmare.
So how do you and Christine like to
spend your time?
We have the girls a few days a week and
Christine is great with them, so that is always
nice. People always ask what hobbies you do,
and a l
ot of footballers play golf. I don’t do
that stuff. I just like to chill out. I’ve got enough
going on at home to get on with without any of
that stuff.
is it hard not to spoil them?
Yes and no. because if you do let kids run riot,
they will do! [Laughs] don’t get me wrong, they
can have their moments. but i do try to be strong
and fun. it’s not always easy to get the right
balance but i think i do okay.
I don’t really have much time to get away. If I am at
home, I’ll go walking and go to church.
How long have you been going
to church?
I went as a kid, with my family and with Sunday
school, and I kind of lost it for a bit. I’m not deeply
religious, far from it, I do believe in God, but I have
found a bit of comfort in it, I would probably say
since mum [died]. I used to go every day in that
period, and now I go along for 20 minutes in the
afternoons every now and then.
Was the most difficult time in your life
when your mum died in 2008?
Yes, by a long way. I’d never been rocked personally Finally, if you had to drag one thing from
like that. Football knocks are football knocks – your house if it was burning down, what
would it be?
Other than the kids and the missus? [Laughs] I
would say my 100th England cap.
OK!
‘I’D nEvER LOSt
AnYOnE cLOSE
tO ME, SO It wAS
A MASSIvE SHOck’
the first three books in frank lampard’s ‘frankie’s magic
football’ series are out now published by little, brown
books for young readers.
interview by shaun curran edited by lizzy price
photographs by contour by getty images, pa, the picture
library, twitter
you get over them and live your life. I’d never lost
anyone close to me before, so it was a massive shock
to me. It changed me, basically. Football was my
way of keeping a sense of normality, otherwise I
probably would have been sitting at home, probably
drinking too many beers, to be honest.
In what ways did it change you?
I became tougher in my own head. I was always a bit of
a worrier and I was always trying to please everyone. I
could be quite hard work sometimes. But it made me a
person that wanted to please myself and please those
around me that I care about.
Have you got any favourite getaway
places if things are getting on top of you?
When we see Christine on TV she looks
very down to earth too…
[Big smile] Yeah, she is. And I think that is why
we go so well together – we are both like that. I
don’t think I’d want to be with someone whose
head was in the clouds and was all about the
glitz and the glamour every day. That’s just not
my thing, and I think she would say the same
about me.
is it difficult to balance work and
home life?
Yes, it can be. i am separated from the girls’ mum
but i get them three full days in the week. i train
in the mornings a lot of days so i can take them
to school, pick them up from school. sometimes
i am away with football so Christine will look
after them. while i’m away i do miss them but it’s
important for the girls to keep their routine. but i
certainly can’t complain. football is a short career, it
won’t go on forever, and the girls understand. You’re
lucky, as you have things like facetime and skype,
so you can actually get hold of them when you’re
travelling away.
Who is the better cook?
She is, without a doubt! She’s l
ike, oh no, I
wouldn’t say that, but she is very good. I cooked
when I was a single lad like everyone does, but it
was the real basics. I’ve developed a bit from then
– I can do a nice bit of pasta, a Bolognese.
there are some people who have been
quite cynical about it…
some people were saying just because of a celebrity
status you can get a head start when it comes to
writing books. i’m definitely not doing it to step
on anyone’s toes or get a head start on anybody
who writes kids’ books. i do think there is a
responsibility as a footballer to use your influence
in a positive way, particularly when it comes to kids
and education, and my main aim here is to try to
get more kids to enjoy reading. i have put a lot of
time into it, and i think for the right reasons.
What’s her speciality?
She does a very good homemade lasagne or chilli
con carne. She does a lovely roast lamb. I’ve got it
pretty good!
Which one of you is the funny one?
I wouldn’t say that one of us in particular was the
funny one, but we do make each other laugh, let’s
put it that way. It’s important for me to be with
somebody that makes you l
augh because when
you come home from work and you’re stressed
and you’re busy, you can bring that stress from
work back home with you.
do your girls like the book or is it a bit
too ‘football’ for them?
they do. i read the books to the kids as i was in the
writing process, a sort of 80 per cent finished version.
they aren’t mad on football, which is why i wanted
to make the books not completely football so they
can appeal to everyone. hopefully, this has got a bit
of adventure and appeals to a broader spectrum.
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How has your family made sure you
stay grounded?
My mum and dad have always been my biggest check.
It was always: ‘Don’t get carried away with yourself,
keep a level head,’ and having grown up in a football
family with Uncle Harry [Redknapp] and [his cousin]
Jamie Redknapp I was always aware of the pitfalls. I
didn’t play football with an aspiration to drive a flash
car, I played with a fear of not being good enough to
make it. And I’ve always kept that with me.
Above: ‘I don’t think I’d want to
be with someone whose head
was in the clouds,’ says Frank.
Facing page left: James Corden
and journalist Gordon Smart
enjoy Frank’s books. Facing
page right: Playing for England
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Is Christine into football?
She wasn’t but she has picked it up very well and
very quickly and she’s an avid Chelsea fan now.
She’s always at the home games with my dad, and
she’ll get to certain away games.
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