Sir Rod Stewart's Glastonbury star guests revealed as legend, 80, admits he almost CANCELLED festival over freak illness
SIR ROD STEWART will take to the Pyramid Stage for one final time tomorrow in the famous Legends slot.
But during an exclusive chat with me before his arrival at Worthy Farm, the rock legend admitted he was close to cancelling the epic 90-minute show just days ago after being struck down with illness.
10
10
'I've had to cancel five shows because of this bastard flu,' Rod roars.
'This time last week I was thinking of cancelling. It was a close shave. I have had Influenza A. It's been so terrible.
'But my dear wife Penny and some good medical people got me through it. There was a lot of technical massaging from some very good people I know, which sounds filthy doesn't it? You've got no idea.
'But my dear wife, she said to me 'You are going to do this. It's mind over matter.' She nursed me back to health. She really is a great girl.
'Honestly Ellie, it's the worst thing anyone could possibly have, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.'
With a devious giggle, Rod adds: 'Apart from Putin. I'd wish it on him.'
Solemnly he continued: 'I am really looking forward to it now. I feel honoured and privileged, considering four days ago I wasn't going to make it.'
Rod's slot is gearing up to be one of the best Legend slots Glastonbury has seen for years and the Maggie May singer — who has enjoyed six No1 singles in his career — has got a treat lined up for fans with his guests.
'Mick Hucknall and I are going to come up and sing She Was Only A Pilot's Daughter But She Kept Her Cockpit Clean,' Rod roars with laughter.
'Only joking. We are going to sing If You Don't Know Me By Now. And then Lulu is coming on.
'She is going to sing Hot Legs and then Ronnie Wood is coming on with me and Lulu to do Stay With Me.'
We're really sounding good.
'All three of my guests are in excellent form and are playing well. We had the best rehearsal yesterday.'
Rod sounds fighting fit and raring to go as we chat on the phone, him from his home in Essex and me in the blazing sunshine down at Worthy Farm.
'I don't know what I am going to wear, darling,' Rod laughs.
'It is so hot. I'm so excited. The Glastonbury people have been very good to me.
'I only had an hour and 15 and I said, 'Mate, I can't do an hour and 15, I've got so many songs people want to hear,' and, bless them, they gave me another 15 minutes which was wonderful.
'I've got 20 odd songs on the set list and it's usually 29. There are so many songs I can't do.
"And we're not just doing slow ones. We're doing three fast songs, then some slow ones, and then some fast ones to keep it all going.'
Rod will be joined on the farm by his family for the iconic slot, which is expected to draw in a crowd of 250,000 people on site — as well as millions tuning in at home.
'Penny will be out the front,' Rod explains. Then three of my kids are already on site.
'We're so excited'
'Ruby has come, Renee and Alistair are there. And Aiden will be there. That's four out of the eight.
'I'm driving down on Saturday evening and I am staying in Bath.
'We're going to have a good band p***-up the night before.'
Rod — who last played Glastonbury back in 2002 — says the sight of his band stepping foot on the farm is one thing he's really looking forward to.
'We are all so excited but I have done it before,' Rod explains.
'But all the guys in my band have never done it apart from the drummer.
'And I've got six girls in the band and they are beside themselves with excitement because they're American — they never thought they'd get on the Glastonbury stage.
'I'm honestly more happy for the band than I am for myself. It feels a privilege. I can't wait.'
We've got our Rod wigs ready and will be down the front with Penny to watch the legend himself tomorrow.
Bring it on.
LORDE celebrated the release of new album Virgin by playing it from start to finish in a surprise set.
She opened the Woodsies stage yesterday morning but after news of her show was leaked, the area was closed off almost an hour before she took to the stage, as thousands flocked there.
10
But the Kiwi singer, dressed in a white T-shirt and matching trousers, admitted she thought she might never return with music after struggling following the release of her third record Solar Power.
She told the crowd: 'This is f***ing sick.
'I decided to play the entire record for you front to back.
'I didn't know if I would make another record, but I'm back here.
'I'm so grateful for you for waiting. It's going to be a sick festival.'
PLAQUE FOR GOOD, ROBBIE?
ROBBIE WILLIAMS got fans' hopes up that he would be performing again at the festival when he shared a photo of this fake blue plaque on Instagram.
It marked 30 years since Rob 'entered this area without accreditation, authorisation, or alignment with prevailing taste. His presence was uninvited, unofficial and ultimately inevitable.'
10
The singer caused a stir in 1995 when he attended Glasto fresh from quitting Take That.
The singer has only played there once in 1998.
But the Rock DJ singer sadly swerved a return to the event this year.
PALOMA FAITH is popping her Glastonbury cherry as a punter.
The Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer, who performed on the Pyramid Stage last year, is at Worthy Farm this weekend and told our Jack she's looking forward to not working.
Paloma said: 'This year is going to be the first year of my life that I've ever been to Glastonbury as a punter.
'I'm camping.
'I'm doing the whole thing.
'To be honest I've been dreading it.
'The reason why I've never done a festival before is because I don't like the thought of camping.
'But then I thought, 'I can't knock it until I've tried it.''
Asked if she was slumming in a £10 tent from Argos or in one of the push yurts, Paloma said with a grin: 'It is quite posh,' before asking: 'What's a yurt? Mine's glamping.'
Giving her best festival confession, Paloma added: 'I went to a festival before I was signed to a record label.
'My boyfriend forgot the bedding.
'I was fuming and as I had a gig I made him sleep naked and I used his clothes as a duvet.
'He was shivering.'
JAMES NORTON had me – and plenty of others – howling as he joined other celebs in reading out letters yesterday.
The actor was among a string of stars, including Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch, on the Greenpeace Stage for Letters Live.
10
10
He read a 2013 one to a newspaper about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
James, who is dating singer Lily Allen, read out: 'I think it is just terrible and disgusting how everyone continues to treat Lance Armstrong – especially after what he achieved by winning seven Tour de France races while competing on drugs.
'The last time I was on drugs, I couldn't even find my bike.'
I reckon there'll be a fair few people in that state on Worthy Farm.
CHARLI'S EARLY TO THE PARTY
TONIGHT'S Other Stage headliner Charli XCX has been on site since Thursday, making the most of her weekend at Worthy Farm.
Joined by her fiancé, The 1975 drummer George Daniel – whose band headlined the Pyramid Stage last night – Charli was seen strutting through hospitality on Thursday before heading up to the Woodsies Stage where they checked out Daniel Avery's set.
They then slipped backstage at the Pyramid to a staff area to relax away from prying eyes.
Speaking to Bizarre, Charli said: 'I'm trying to keep a low profile. I'm here to have fun.'
Yesterday, Charli was up early cheering on pal Lorde from the side of the stage for her secret set at Woodsies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
11 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Glasto fans stunned as Doctor Who legend joins Franz Ferdinand on stage in wild cameo
GLASTONBURY is in full swing and with it comes a whole heap of surprises. In fact there have been so many twists and turns, revellers were left with their jaws dropped when a Doctor Who legend joined Franz Ferdinand on stage for a wild cameo. Advertisement 7 Franz Ferdinand gave fans a treat when they introduced their surprise Glastonbury guest Credit: AFP 7 Fans went wild when Peter Capaldi strutted onto the stage Credit: BBC 7 The Time Lord joined the band for their set on the Other Stage Credit: BBC 7 Peter then joined the band to sing one of their very famous songs Credit: BBC Yesterday, the noughties indie band took to the Other Stage for a set which included all of their greatest hits. As revellers sang along to their top tunes in the sweltering heat, they then got a welcome surprise. Poking fun at all the talk about "surprise sets" at Glastonbury, lead singer Alex Kaparanos said: 'One of the things I love about Glastonbury is the rumours. You know, all the gossip that goes around.' Continuing he then revealed the band had their own surprise for the fans up their sleeve. Advertisement 'You may have heard a rumour that a fellow Glaswegian who goes by the name of Capaldi," Alex told the crowd. "Well, Glastonbury, it gives me great joy to say that these rumours are true. He is here with us tonight. The original Capaldi – Peter Capaldi!' Fans went wild to say the least as Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi walked on stage. Revellers then couldn't believe what they were seeing when the Time Lord joined in with the band to sing their famous hit, Take Me Out. Advertisement NOT THE ONLY CAPALDI AT GLASTO As Franz Ferdinand pointed out, Peter wasn't the only one of the Capaldi family at the Worthy Farm yesterday. The actor's nephew Lewis, 28, joined in on the action for a surprise set on the Pyramid Stage - at the same time as he was on stage with Franz Ferdinand. Lewis Capaldi makes emotional Glastonbury return two years after heartbreaking set Strutting on stage for his surprise set, he told Glastonbury revellers: 'I'm back baby' as he made a triumphant comeback to the famous festival. The Scots singer made his long-anticipated return to the festival two years after he broke down on the very same stage. Advertisement Lewis, who has Tourette's, took a two-year hiatus from performing after his 2023 Glasto set saw him tear up and suffer repeated tics. But he made an emotional return as he swaggered onto the stage yesterday as a crowd of more than 100,000 people chanted his name. The singer told fans the past two years had been 'difficult' but admitted he had unfinished business to resolve. 7 Peter's nephew Lewis Capaldi made an emotional return to the Glastonbury stage last night Credit: Getty Advertisement 7 The famous relatives get on well Credit: Daily Record He said: "Glastonbury, it's so good to be back. I'm not gonna say much up here today because if I do, I think I'll probably start crying. "But I said it's just amazing to be here with you all, and I can't thank you all enough for coming out and coming and seeing me.' Making light of his 2023 performance, which he was forced to cut short, he said: "Second time's a charm on this one, everybody. Advertisement "It's just a short set today, but I just wanted to come and finish what I couldn't finish the first time.' Festival-goers when then treated them to the surprise 35-minute set with hits like Before You Go and Hold Me While You Wait. Introducing his new song, Survive, which dropped this week, Lewis said: "I released a new song. The last two years haven't been the best for me. It's been quite difficult at times. "I wanted to write a song about overcoming that stuff and getting to the other side of it. Advertisement "This has been my f*****g goal to get here. This song's about that."
The Sun
11 minutes ago
- The Sun
Influencer mum-of-4 slammed for 'embarrassing' style choices aged 37 insists she won't stop wearing beloved belly tops
AN INFLUENCER mum who's regularly trolled over her wardrobe choices has insisted she won't stop wearing her beloved belly tops. Anna Saccone Joly regularly shares videos and pictures of herself and her family - husband Jonathan and their four kids - on her social media pages. 2 2 But she's found herself targeted over her wardrobe, which has included a tonne of crop tops since she had a "mummy makeover", including a tummy tuck, in August 2023. Lots of people in the comments on Anna's videos have insisted she's too old, at 37, to be wearing the stomach-baring ensembles. "The belly tops are embarrassing at nearly 40," one person insisted. "Give your children's clothes back to them!" another added. "If you don't like others comments & opinions…" a third commented. "Stop flaunting it over social media then - go be a mother to your kids instead of trying to be one of them!!!" However, YouTuber and influencer Anna hit back at the comments as she lip-synced along to Billy Joel's My Life, pretending to sing: "I don't care what you say anymore this is my life. "Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone!" "I guess I didn't realise we were meant to dress like old maids in our late 30s," she added in the caption. And others agreed with her in the comments section of the TikTok, encouraging Anna to wear exactly what she wants. Woman Undergoes 5 Life-Changing Surgeries "You can never be too old to wear a belly top," one wrote in the comments. "Agree!" Anna replied. "So pretty and even with surgery you should be able to show off you new look," another added. "I would wear one in winter if I was you!" a third said. "We spend our entire young lives being judged for what we wear and look like," someone else commented. "Getting to a point where you are comfortable and confident in a style that works for you is the goal. How to blast belly fat WITHOUT going to the gym or dieting Chew your food This mindfulness trick is used to focus your brain on the food you are eating - how it tastes and feels - rather than scoffing it in a hurry. If the brain does not register that you have eaten, you'll soon crave more food. Avocado a day Eating avocado every day can fight visceral fat in women, which collects around the organs in the stomach and can lead to diabetes, heart attack, and some cancers, according to a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study of 105 people. Avoid fizzy drinks Losing belly 'fat' may just be a case of preventing bloating, which can be onset by fizzy soft drinks. Instead, keep hydrated with water. Reduce alcohol Alcohol does no favours at all for our health or figures. It is 'empty calories', meaning it contributes to your calorie intake without giving any nutritional benefit. Hangovers can also lead you to eat more fatty foods, while putting you off exercising. Sleep more Various studies have shown that if you're not sleeping well, it can cause weight gain. People are more likely to crave junk food when they are sleep deprived because, not only are they in need of an energy boost, but their appetite hormones are all over the place. Reduce stress Stress causes an imbalance of hormones, particularly cortisol. This hormone has been linked with obesity and excess belly fat. Find ways to reduce your stress to avoid the so-called 'stress belly'. "I recently lost some weight and now wear tops similar to this. "I'm 37 and have spent literally DECADES hating my body - I freaking earned the right to wear whatever the hell I want." "You look great, it's flattering on you," another said. "Clothing doesn't have specific ages. Not sure why anyone cares lol!" "I'm 36 and wear whatever I like!" someone else wrote. "I WILL NOT LIVE MY LIFE IN THE OPINION OF OTHERS!! All the haters are just JEALOUS!!! PERIOD." "If I looked as good as you, I'd be rocking that outfit everyday," another commented. "You do you hun!"
The Guardian
15 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I was living in Doodle Land and didn't know how to get back': the million-dollar artist who drew himself crazy
From the road, it's barely visible; glimpsed, maybe, if peered at with cheeks pressed against the property's imposing iron gates. There is otherwise little out of the ordinary in this quiet Kent corner of London's affluent commuter belt – St Michael's has a village hall, a country club, a farm shop. But at the end of a snaking, hedge-lined driveway is an incongruous home: a sprawling, six-bedroom neo-Georgian mansion, almost every inch, inside and out, covered in the trademark black-on-white line drawings of its owner, Mr Doodle, the 31-year-old artist Sam Cox. A car honks twice behind me. A woman in her 80s steps out. 'It's mindblowing, isn't it?' Sam's grandmother Sue says, eyebrows aloft. 'And terribly … different.' The gates ahead buzz open. 'Take it slowly,' she offers, by way of warning. 'You'll want to give your eyes a few minutes to adjust.' Corner turned, the house comes into unobstructed view: an imposing modern manor enveloped floor to roof in lines, curves and cartoon-ish characters. All exterior walls are doodled over: statues, plant pots, phone box, chimney, guttering and window sashes, too. Standing in the doodled doorway to greet me are Sam and his artist wife Alena, 35, both in full doodle dress-up. 'I sometimes say it's like graffiti spaghetti,' Sam says of his style, inviting me to step over the doodled doormat. 'It's influenced by early-era New York street art, but intertwined, overlapping and cartoonish.' Six-foot-something Sam is gentle and softly spoken – most animated when talking about his work. He's joined by younger brother Tom – now Sam's manager – and mum Andrea. Dad Neill and grandpa David are also on the payroll, today tasked with entertaining Sam and Alena's two-year-old son Alfie. Having first found success in viral videos during the late 2010s, Sam's various artistic ventures now earn significant sums: during one nine-month period in 2020, his artwork racked up $4.7m in sales – one piece fetched nearly $1m. That year, he was the world's fifth most successful artist aged under 40 at auction. Sam purchased his St Michael's property for £1.35m in 2019. Its evolution from rural residence to live-in illustrated installation was the realisation of an ambition held for a decade. 'I must have been 15 when I first planned it,' he says. 'I was set a project called Obsession by my graphics teacher. He wanted me to document my fixation with drawing. I doodled on some furniture, clothes and my childhood bedroom.' 'I was fine with that,' Andrea interjects, as we step into the kitchen: doodled oven, doodled taster, doodled extractor fan. 'He also asked to do the family bathroom. That was a no.' 'The obvious next step was a whole house,' Sam says. 'It was always a target in my head.' In December 2019, the purchase complete, Sam's uncle Graham Wells – a builder – was tasked with stripping the house back to its bones. Every surface, inside and out, was painted white – a nearly 5,000 sq ft blank canvas. It took a little over two years, all in, for Sam to decorate the house in its entirety: spray paint on the outside, black acrylic and bingo markers indoors. The result is a truly transfixing optical overload. We all settle on the doodled sofas. His parents' house – where Sam was raised – is a short walk through the village. 'I tried to talk him out of it at first,' Andrea says, sipping from her doodled teacup. 'We looked around with the last owners who asked if Sam was going to doodle it. No, he told them. I'm not sure it would have been sold to him if they'd known. For the exterior, I came up with all sorts of alternative suggestions. Why not try projections? Then you could switch it off.' Sam was having none of it. 'We've had no complaints from the neighbours. I know it was your dream,' she glances over at her adult child, 'but it was like being in a nightmare at the time.' Sam, who is listening quietly, fidgets his fingers. To the millions of followers who watched online, the house's transformation was a triumph. Set to jaunty music, one time-lapse victory video documenting his efforts has been watched some seven million times. What it fails to capture is the devastating toll of the undertaking, now explored in a feature-length documentary due to air on Channel 4. 'Midway through the project,' Sam says, 'I had a psychotic episode …' Andrea puts it bluntly: 'At one stage, we were worried Sam was going to doodle himself to death.' The drawing started when Sam was a toddler. 'He drew when he was small,' Andrea says, 'but, we thought, so do all children. The older he got, the more he doodled. Comics and cartoons first, then video games became his inspiration. By his early teens, drawing was pretty much all he did.' Occasionally, she felt creeping concern .'I'd say, 'Sam, are you sure you don't want to go outside for a bit?' But he was just happy, hurting nobody. Evenings, weekends, any spare time - it was constant.' Socialising seemed of little interest. At night, he could be found doodling under the duvet. 'We'd be watching TV, and I'd turn to see him face-down in a page.' 'It was a fun place to disappear into,' Sam explains. 'I'd get stacks of A4 printer paper from the supermarket and fill up every page.' All through school, this carried on, encouraged by graphics teacher Morgan Davies, now Mr Doodle Inc's creative director. 'Morgan introduced me to graffiti, and artists like Keith Haring, Yayoi Kusama and Jean Dubuffet.' Aged 15, there was an evolution in his artwork: 'What poured on to the page changed from drawings that looked like characters from the Simpsons into what it is today.' Sam kept it up while studying illustration at the University of the West of England. Friends would often find him doodling in the corners of pubs and clubs. Fuelled by energy drinks, he'd draw for 16 hours a day, sometimes more, as his obsession deepened. 'Every day I'd wake up and want to draw,' Sam says. 'Anything else was an inconvenience.' 'Must not sleep' became a mantra, scrawled across notebooks – wasted doodle-able hours. During his student days, Sam started to experiment with the idea of an artistic alter ego – a character to accompany his work. He turned up to give a third-year presentation in a fully doodled suit, replete with doodled accessories (fedora, briefcase), announcing he was The Doodle Man from Doodle Land. Friends accepted their quirky mate; others found the vibe … unusual. The Mr Doodle moniker stuck. Sam began to inhabit this kooky persona with increasing regularity. 'I was already handing out Mr Doodle business cards on the street, leaving them on train seats, and throwing them out of my university flat window to try to generate attention. Dressing up and becoming this character felt a natural extension to getting myself out there: a backstory and narrative formed.' In early YouTube videos, Sam would traverse the streets of Bristol in doodled clothes looking to use his drawings as currency: 'I'd try to trade them for stationery, bus rides, a portion of fish and chips. Mr Doodle gave me confidence.' 'It offered him a mask, we thought at the time: a way of being extroverted that didn't always come naturally,' Andrea says. She wasn't thrilled by his antics; certainly, she resented being asked to film him bouncing around their garden in a doodle bunny costume. 'Only, how could I tell him to stop, when it made him happy?' After graduating in 2015, Sam set up a studio in his parents' garage. Commissions started small: office walls, street murals. Then, in 2017, while drawing in an east London pop-up shop, a passerby filmed him at work. That recording ended up going viral on Facebook, and his online influence started to snowball: hundreds of thousands of followers flocked to his accounts. Lucrative brand collaborations followed: Samsung, Disney, Red Bull, Fendi. At auction, his canvases started fetching tens of thousands. An admirer of Sam's work, Ukrainian-born Alena – then living in Kyiv – got in touch, and the pair started talking. There were visits to their respective countries, and the relationship got serious. At the time, Sam oversaw every aspect of his booming business – in part down to his determination to pour every penny into savings, eyes firmly on the doodle-house prize. Sam was stretched beyond his limits: less sleep, more drawing, travelling to Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul for commissions. He also spent extended periods inhabiting his alter ego, his longest drawing marathon lasting 36-plus hours. That's when he got the keys to this house. 'I thought I would live here as Mr Doodle,' he says, 'never seen out of the clothes and character. The boundaries between me and him would blur.' Work started in February 2020. Those first few weeks Sam felt unwell. 'It was physical, initially,' he explains. 'Like I had the flu: cloudy head; I was slow to respond in conversation and couldn't keep up with TV.' A cold, Sam thought. Severe stress, maybe. 'I had weird daydreams, hallucinations, panic attacks …' Once, when Alena was visiting, the pair got an early night. 'As Alena was winding down,' Sam says, 'I turned to her and said: 'I'm really worried if I go to sleep I'll never wake up.'' She tried to calm and console him. 'I'd never seen Sam cry before,' she says, 'but I woke up in the night and he was still awake, sitting up, in floods of tears, distraught. Then it escalated quickly.' Sam was driven to A&E, 'convinced he had dementia', Andrea explains. 'He insisted on saying goodbye to us all, certain he wouldn't survive until morning.' A series of emergency brain scans found nothing. A woman in the waiting room kept catching Andrea's eye. 'This lady was marching around erratically, shouting about the Bible.' It wound up an anxious Andrea. 'For God's sake, I thought, will you just sit down? I was entirely unaware that the next day, that would be my son.' A psychiatrist assessed Sam. His suggestion: take him home and keep an eye on him. Back at his parents' house, Sam wouldn't settle. 'There was a look in his eyes,' Alena says. 'It wasn't the Sam I knew in there.' Sam nods: 'The only way I can describe it is that I didn't know who or where I was.' His parents reverted to basic instincts. He climbed into their bed and they held him tight, stroked his hair, and encouraged slow, deep breaths. They told him he was loved. 'But he wasn't having any of it.' Andrea shakes her head. 'He jumped up and started shouting out the windows and yelling down the stairs. All sorts of nonsense was coming out of his mouth. There was no reasoning with him. So Neill took him back to hospital.' This time, the psychiatrist was clear: Sam needed to be sectioned. 'They were trying to sedate him,' Andrea continues, 'but Sam was so manic that the drugs didn't have an effect. He was convinced his brain was inside the heart monitor, that people were trying to kill him, and that he was no longer Sam. He was running through the corridors shouting: 'I'm Mr Doodle, and I need help.' It was as if someone else was inside him, and had taken over his body. Like he was possessed.' He was diagnosed as having a psychotic episode and psychosis. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Sam nods as he listens – his own memories are fuzzy. He knows he was taken to an ambulance. 'I was convinced the paramedic was my friend Steve, and kept trying to escape, running around the hospital car park. It was like I'd entered this alternative, Matrix world that I'd invented in my head.' Eventually, he was corralled into a psychiatric ward in Canterbury, where his psychosis worsened. The next six weeks were a blur: two weeks at one secure unit, then a month at another. 'I wasn't able to understand who or what was in front of me.' He became conspiratorial, believing meals and medication were laced with poison. He was consumed by religious and spiritual delusion. 'I believed I was connected to God. That if I breathed deeply, I could control things. If I tapped my right foot, I'd send someone to heaven, or my left foot could send someone to hell. I thought screaming certain words gave me specific powers.' He looks to the family now sitting around him. 'And I know I said the worst things to all of them.' Sam believed he had become the character he'd constructed. On one visit, he turned to Alena and announced, 'Sam is dead, call me Mr Doodle now.' Art was intertwined with his psychosis; at times, it was the only connection the family found to the Sam they knew. 'I wanted to draw on the hospital walls,' says Sam, which wasn't exactly encouraged. 'They'd put me in a confined room, and I'd draw on the walls in soup and bread. People coming and going seemed, to me, to be artists I'd been inspired by.' His senses were heightened. 'Colours were so intense; if I heard music, it would feel like my whole body was vibrating.' On the psychiatric ward, Sam's doodling remained relentless. He still has the sketchbooks. 'If I drew something square or angular, it was an evil character. Circular, bouncy shapes were happy and angelic. There are lots of notes about God and religion scattered through. It was like I was living in Doodle Land, and I didn't know how to get back again.' When doctors discharged Sam in April 2020, he was still unwell. At home, he'd sit, having imagined conversations with Donald Trump and Kanye West. One time, midway through a chat with his mother, Sam declared: 'You're not my mum, you're Nigel Farage.' It didn't help that the pandemic was in its early stages. 'I was already distrusting of things – then there was talk of this disease. I was convinced it was a plot.' 'We could be anywhere,' Andrea expands, 'and something would switch: he'd see something not there, or believe something entirely irrational. We'd be quietly watching TV, and Sam would turn around and ask: 'Why are they talking about me?' It could take hours to talk him down. We couldn't even watch David Attenborough – Sam thought the rocks were giving him dirty looks.' Occasionally, flickers of the old Sam returned – initially, in conversation with his grandparents. Over months, these became more regular. He only came off the last of the medication in early 2024. Psychotic episodes can be triggered by substance abuse, sleep deprivation, stress or specific physical conditions. 'I didn't feel stressed at the time,' Sam says. The family doesn't seem convinced. 'But there was definitely too much in my head.' Episodes such as this have no clear end point, and doctors couldn't guarantee it wouldn't strike again. Sam was unperturbed and, within weeks, wanted to return to project Doodle House. 'I thought you should never draw, never be Mr Doodle again,' Tom says. 'That this place would have to be abandoned.' 'I tried to talk him out of it,' Andrea says. 'But he was determined. So we just encouraged him to take it slow, not all day and all night: stop, walk, break, breathe. Alena was here, keeping Sam under control, making sure he took breaks and his tablets.' The pandemic helped, slowing Sam's other projects. His parents took over the business admin. 'Plus, I was sleeping a lot more because of the medication,' he says. 'There was no 24 hours of nonstop drawing, as before.' Joey the cockapoo's arrival was a boon. 'I'd stop drawing to take him out for walks.' Soon, Alena was pregnant – another responsibility. The documentary, the family hope, marks an end to this chapter. 'Speaking about it has made the whole thing feel more normal for all of us,' Andrea explains. 'Before this, I'd never been inside a psychiatric hospital.' The topic feels taboo, perhaps, even in an era of mental health awareness. 'When Sam first got ill, I wasn't telling people – not embarrassed, but I didn't understand, or know how to explain. Now we just talk about it as if he had appendicitis.' Sam and Alena take me on a tour, past doodled walls, floors and ceilings; lamps, log burner and chandelier; dressing gown and laptop; toilet and bathtub. There's a doodle garage, complete with doodled Tesla. Dream-themed doodles decorate the bedroom; each of the 2,000 tiles in its en suite bathroom are adorned with appropriately aquatic doodle designs. We step outside, passing the doodle water butt and American yellow school bus, through the evolving sculpture park. In the back corner of the four-acre estate is an imposing, newly constructed modern studio, designed by architect Guy Hollaway. Its exterior is wrapped in metal panels, each with intricate laser-cut doodle shapes. Inside, white double-height walls provide Sam with a blank backdrop to work on. In one corner, floor-to-ceiling racks display his recent works. The smallest among them sells for roughly $80,000. Another corner displays a grid of square drawings, each with crisscross coloured lines. It's a new style he's experimenting with, inspired by the NHS-issue felt-tip pens he relied on while hospitalised. The studio is a flurry of activity: Tom is taking a phone call, Alena moves materials around. Photographs are being taken. In the corner, at a table, Sam sits, thick, black pen in hand, entirely at ease. Smooth, freeform lines fill up the white page. Swoop, circle, dot dot dot. Up to the corner, looping down. Squiggle, glide, squiggle. Alena perches next to me. 'The first time we met,' she tells me, 'Sam told me this was his dream: to buy the big house, and to doodle it. I knew what I was signing up for.' I'm not convinced that grandma Sue was right, I say: my eyes haven't yet adjusted. 'When we first started,' Alena replies, 'I couldn't imagine living there. It was so sterile. But I started to make it homely, with little softening details. Now it's home. It's not too much for me, honestly, any of this. Without doodles, Sam and I would never have met. I find them comforting.' 'When I start drawing,' Sam says, 'I don't think before shapes and characters just merge into something. I enjoy the physical feeling of moving the pen along the paper – it's like that sensation of spreading soft butter on toast. It just feels satisfying. The noise that it makes. I feel content in myself when I do it, emotionally. It's when I'm happiest. Seeing the work made in front of me is a high – it's that feeling I'm chasing each time I draw. This itch that's satisfied by seeing work appearing in front of me.' He still feels that intense pull to draw: 'I don't get lost in it now, but left to my own devices, I could do this for ever' The Trouble with Mr Doodle airs on Channel 4 on 9 July at 10pm.
