ALL ABOUT TOM - 'I DUMPED GIOVANNA AFTER A FEW DAYS AND GROVELLED FOR YEARS TO GET HER BACK!'

MCFLY STAR TOM FLETCHER ON WHY WOOING HIS WIFE WASN'T ALL PLAIN SAILING, HOW FATHERHOOD HAS CHANGED HIM AND WHY HE'S HAPPY TO WATCH STRICTLY FROM THE COMFORT OF HIS SOFA THIS YEAR

- KIRSTY NUTKINS AND ELLIE KIRWIN-JONES

For many people, hitting 40 is a huge milestone – one that often makes them reflect on what they have accomplished, both professionally and personally. Luckily for Tom Fletcher, he’s still three years off his big 4-0 and has already achieved more than most.

The singer has spent the past 20 years notching up hits with his band McFly and writing bestselling children’s books, including The Christmasaurus and There’s A Monster In Your Book. More recently he has become a YouTube sensation, with a channel boasting more than 660,000 subscribers. Away from work, he’s happily married to his childhood sweetheart, 2020 I’m A Celeb winner Giovanna, 37, with whom he shares sons Buzz, eight, Buddy, six, and Max, four.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Tom is about to launch another kids’ book, Space Band, which he says was inspired by his own experiences with McFly. It tells the story of George, Neila and Bash, who have formed the worst band on Earth – but make up for what they lack in talent and confidence with their passion.

“That is the journey of any band,” says Tom, who joined McFly in 2003, aged 18. “You are terrible when you start, not only at your own instrument, but also at playing with each other.

“One of the big experiences from the band that I could relate to this book was our first show – we went from playing in tiny rehearsal rooms with a handful of friends watching to our first live show in front of 60,000 people alongside Rod Stewart, James Brown and Ronnie Wood. That’s what I wanted Space Band to feel like.”