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Joe Wicks has been helping to keep the nation fit during these strange times with his daily live streams of 'PE with Joe' which he started as a response to the Coronavirus lockdown. In March he set a world record for the most people accessing an exercise live stream. Professionally known as The Body Coach he’s been on a mission to get the nation’s children exercising more and eating healthily.

So what else did we learn from Joe Wicks’s Desert Island Discs?

1. Joe believes that physical fitness can transform lives

"I think kids learn from what they see. My little daughter Indie already watches me squat and run on the spot and she calls it exercise. I always talk about mental health benefits so if I’m having a stressful day and I’m feeling a little bit tired, a little bit grouchy when I go upstairs and do my workout and I come back down to the living room and I see my kids and wife, I’m a better person. I’m more calm, I’m more patient, I’m more focussed. Fitness is the core part of my life - it’s work but it’s also what keeps me level and focussed and centred. That’s really what I’m trying to achieve in my life which is let people know that whether you’re sedentary or very active you can transform your life through fitness."

2. It’s because of George Ezra’s mum that Joe’s PE workouts have the soundtrack they do

The soundtrack to PE with Joe is Shotgun by George Ezra and it’s one of Joe’s Desert Island Discs. Joe got special permission to use it because George Ezra’s mum who is a school teacher heard Joe say he’d love to have music on his exercise sessions but couldn’t because he didn’t have permission. "George Ezra’s mum contacted her son George and he contacted his music label and they gave me the rights to play this amazing song on my workouts."

3. His mum made him hoover his bedroom twice a day

"My mum loved housework, she basically had OCD. Here’s a funny story. My bedroom carpet was pitch black and it showed up every speck of dirt and dust so my mum would want me to hoover it twice a day. I was like four, five, six years old. I was really young. But she wouldn’t let me use the big bit, she wanted me to use the little bit you do the stairs with because she’d want to see the lines. So I just remember doing it over and over again which was a nightmare but I also remember playing this song over and over again in my head." The song is Bright Side of the Road by Van Morrison and it’s another one of Joe’s choices.

I remember mum and dad saying 鈥淲e鈥檒l love you whatever you become鈥�

4. Joe had to overcome his own share of hardship

In the programme Joe says: "It was a tough time. My mum was so young - she had my brother Nikki at 17, she had me at 19 - and alongside being very young and leaving school at 15, my dad was a heroin addict. She raised me and the more I think about it the more I’m proud of her as a woman. She’s amazing and I love her to death." Joe talks about the chaotic effect of living with a drug addict father: "Being a drug addict is very unpredictable - one minute he’s there and then he’s not - and I didn’t understand why. I was too young to understand addiction and why he couldn’t be there for me."

5. Joe spent most of his first pay cheque joining a gym

Joe joined a gym with his first regular pay cheque, spending 60 of the 90 pounds he was earning each month on the membership. He thinks it was teasing by his brother that probably inspired him to do it: "I was really skinny as a kid and one of the things that used to really upset me and get on my nerves was when my brother used to say 'You’re a skinny little runt, look at your skinny little legs,' and he called me skinny for so many years it must have affected me a little bit because when I went to the gym I was just obsessed because I didn’t want him to call me skinny anymore. I never really put on much muscle so I’m still quite skinny but I’m just lean and I’ve built my body because of it I suppose."

6. His dad Gary got clean with Narcotics Anonymous...

"Today he’s clean and that’s the most important thing but as a teenager I didn’t understand, I was angry but now as an adult I understand, I’ve got more empathy. What my dad needs now is connection, he needs me to tell him I love him, to pull him closer and hug him and not push him away in anger." Joe’s philosophical about the past and not trying to change the things that have already happened: "I’m not one to dwell on the past and have resentments. I’m the man I am today because of what my dad’s been through, what my mum’s been through and I always had love and that’s the most powerful thing you can have in life… I remember mum and dad saying 'We’ll love you whatever you become'."

7. And his dad has a better time for running the marathon than Joe!

"I was so busy at the time that I thought 'I don’t really need to train' I can just turn up and do it. I ran the first half really quick and then my knee started to ache and it went: 'No, you’re not doing this today, mate!' So I hobbled - took me six and a half hours to get round - and when I came down the Mall, there was no one there to cheer. I was the end of the end! My dad done it a year later and beat me by two hours. He did it on his 60th birthday and completely showed up The Body Coach!"

8. A mammoth cycle ride was a turning point for Joe

In 2010 he cycled from Vancouver 2000 miles down the west coast of America into Mexico and Tijuana sleeping on beaches and benches. "It was a really pivotal time. I was basically running away from life, from relationships, from work. I didn’t really want to go and be a teacher and all I had was a sports science degree and nothing else and I felt really lonely and confused. When I got to the end of that trip I said: 'I’ve had an amazing time but I need to put my time and energy into something,' and that summer I came back and started my personal trainer qualification and went on to become The Body Coach."

9. Joe calls his wife Rosie ‘the woman of his dreams’

"It’s a story not many people know but I’ve known of Rosie for years. She used to be a model and I’ve always known of her and I’ve just always thought she’s the most beautiful thing in the world, so lovely. So it’s like my dream came true when I met her and fell in love and it was literally with the girl of my dreams… She’s such a wonderful mum and I’m lucky I’ve got the woman of my dreams and my beautiful kids."

10. Joe’s a family guy

"My favourite thing in the world is being with my kids and having fun so it’s definitely kept me grounded during this lockdown period. What really is important to me is the people you’re with in this moment, your health and your happiness, so I’ve definitely become a lot more grateful and showing gratitude for what you’ve got, which for me is my wife and my kids and I tell them every day how much I love them."