THEIR father and son Netflix travel series’ never fail to have viewers in fits of laughter.
And later this year comedian Jack Whitehall, 35, and his cantankerous dad Michael, 84, will turn their attention to the former’s first foray into fatherhood in new series Fatherhood with my Father.
It documents the build-up to the arrival of Jack’s daughter Elsie as he and Michael reflect on their own relationship over the years.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on behalf of easyJet Holidays, Michael revealed he was excited by the prospect of another series.
He said: “I think we’ll try and squeeze as much toothpaste from the tube on that one. I mean, on the fatherhood thing, there was travelling was involved.
“So the fatherhood series is sort of like Travels with my Father, except it’s a little bit more themed and more focused on sort of documentary and imparting information as well. And Netflix seemed very pleased about it.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised if we might have our arms twisted to do a second series of it, but we’ll wait and see what happens to the first one.”
The hilarious trailer for the series, which will air in September, features Michael oversharing details from Jack’s own birth in his inimitable style.
His main pearl of wisdom was to “stay away from the business end” during the labour.
He then proceeded to explain how Jack’s ‘huge head’ has impacted the way his mum Hilary, 62, walks.
Hilary is used to being “thrown under the bus”, as Michael puts it, but she gets her revenge later in the series.
She said: “What I do is I get my own back and you will see when the series comes out that I do get my own back in a couple of ways, in quite a dramatic way.
“You know what they say, revenge is a dish best eaten cold. So once I’d seen that, I thought, right, I’m going to get my own back on them. So I did.”
Jack and his model girlfriend Roxy Horner were spurred on to start a family after the comedian’s younger sister fell pregnant for a second time, according to Hilary.
“I think Jack and Roxy definitely saw Molly with one baby and having another baby and thought, ‘oh, maybe we should be getting on with it’,” she said.
“Particularly as Jack is older than Molly. I think he thought slightly being left behind here, we need to crack on.
“But they’ve taken to it amazingly. Jack and Roxy are amazing parents, much more patient than I ever was. There’s a lot of singing, a lot of dancing.”
Michael’s built up a somewhat fearsome reputation as a talent agent in a former life and his stern, no-nonsense demeanour followed him into his own television career.
But in the family home, Hilary revealed her husband has a softer side and the nickname ‘Grandpa Chocolate’.
She said: “He’s an old softie with the grandchildren. Oh my God, they’ve got him wrapped around their little fingers.
“One big grin and a sort of giggle and he’s putty in their hands. I kept saying, where is this ruthless man that everybody knows from the travel series? Not when the grandchildren are concerned.”
While he might be mellow with the grandkids, Michael is anything but when it comes to bad beach etiquette.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we might have our arms twisted to do a second series of it.
Michael Whitehall
This summer, he and Hilary have become Beach Rangers to tackle ‘beach botherers’.
Alarmingly, 94 percent of 2,000 Brits polled reported having their beach relaxation ruined by poor beach etiquette in the past, whether it’s from loud portable speakers, intrusive drones, stag parties or vain social media poseurs.
Michael said: “Nothing spoils a holiday faster than bad beach etiquette. Whether it’s shaking sand from towels everywhere or treating the beach like their own private nightclub, we’ve seen these issues all over the world.
“It’s time to put a stop to them. As Beach Rangers, Hilary and I are here to educate tourists on the common courtesies and basic do’s and don’ts of beach etiquette to ensure everyone enjoys a great beach holiday this summer. And remember, don’t feed the seagulls. It never ends well.”
On a recent holiday to Greece, Michael complained to staff at a beach restaurant over its loud house music.
He said: “I said to the waiter, ‘I think your music’s got stuck over there’. He didn’t know what I was talking about because he didn’t speak English.
“Quick as a flash the people we were with, who were in their 70s, the chap said, ‘I think you’ll find that that is house music, Michael’.
“So then I said, ‘what, you mean the music that’s played in your house where we are, you mean?’
“‘No, no, no, it’s a special genre of music’.
“I said, ‘I mean, it’s the most ghastly noise. Switch it off’.”
The venue duly obliged and gave them a new table facing away from the speakers too, proving his famous bark is still useful.
