Latest news with #KitchenDisco
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We've openly chatted about it': Sophie Ellis-Bextor on how she spoke to her sons about Netflix's Adolescence
When Netflix's Adolescence arrived on our screens in March, it got the whole nation talking – and that includes singer and Kitchen Disco icon Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Starring on Good Housekeeping's August cover, she shared how it was useful to bring into discussion with her sons, as well as how important it is to talk about toxic masculinity. Sophie, who is mum to Sonny, 21, Kit, 16, Ray, 13, Jesse, nine, and Mickey, six, explained: 'Aspects of it were brilliant to bring into the discussion, but I've always had a lot of faith in my boys. We've openly chatted about toxic masculinity for a long time. 'My eldest is very articulate about these things, so none of it was new to my house. Sometimes people have an idea of what boys are like, as if they're a different species,' she added. As far as I'm concerned, I'm raising five people who happen to be boys. She also addressed the issue of mobile phones and screen time, explaining that, in her house, it's a conversation rather than a set of rules about what they can and can't do. 'I keep an eye on it, because that's parenting, but if you start demonising things, you shut down communication,' she says. 'Then you're like those parents in the 1950s who made kids burn their rock 'n' roll albums.' As for housework, she explained that the boys help out around the house and revealed that, with food being a big part of family life, they're quite handy in the kitchen. 'My intention is that they should all leave home being able to cook and dance,' she says. 'The key skills.' Fans may remember that Sophie's boys joined her on her Instagram Live Kitchen Discos during the Covid lockdowns, which became a real family affair. 'The Kitchen Discos were very relaxed for them," Sophie says. 'I'd say, 'Oh, we're doing another one on Friday if you fancy it?' "And some weeks they might say, 'I'm not doing it,' then, with five minutes to go, they'd come downstairs in a crazy outfit." Sometimes they were dressed as superheroes, sometimes as animals, sometimes they were outside on the trampoline, sometimes clinging to her leg. Music, she mused, is just part of life at home. 'We always have music on, and all the stuff was in our kitchen already: disco balls, sequin bunting, smoke machine, laser machine…' Something tells us life in the Ellis-Bextor-Jones family is rather fun. Read the full interview in Good Housekeeping UK's August issue, on sale now. Sophie's album, Perimenopop, is released on 12th September. Visit to win tickets to Sophie's album launch show at London KOKO on 8th September. You Might Also Like The anti-ageing wonder ingredient you're missing in your skincare routine 15 dresses perfect for a summer wedding 6 items our fashion team always take on a beach holiday
Telegraph
16-02-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
A 20-minute dance a day will keep NHS doctors at bay, US study finds
Dancing in your kitchen for 20 minutes a day could be enough to help you hit NHS exercise targets. Doing a morning jig to the radio or boogeying to the evening playlist can be more active than previously thought and help people stay active, scientists have found. Current guidelines, including those of the NHS, suggest adults complete 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise per week. This is often cited as being in the gym, going for a jog or having a swim, but a study has found dancing is just as effective. However, research has found that following in singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor 's footsteps and emulating her popular Kitchen Disco show on BBC Radio Two that she began during the pandemic can help you hit those weekly targets. Scientists from Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts, recruited 48 participants aged 18 to 83 years old with a range of rhythmic experience and asked them to take part in five-minute bouts of dancing. Oxygen intake and heart rate were measured to determine intensity of the exercise during the sessions and data show all participants reached at least a moderate physical activity level. The study was led by Dr Aston McCullough, from Northeastern, who said at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference: 'The main idea was to understand whether the intensity that people would receive from dancing freely on their own be enough to be a health-enhancing physical activity. 'And the answer was 'yes'. All adults were able to reach a health-enhancing level of activity without being told what intensity to dance at. 'They just put on their own music and danced around – and even when they didn't have music on they were still reaching that level. 'The main idea for us is that dance is a really accessible form of physical activity that people can do, even in their homes. 'Most people think of dance as something that is light and really easy, but really if you just tell someone to 'have a dance' they're going to get to that level of intensity that you would ask them to do if you were a personal trainer.' Dr McCullough said that dance can benefit health as it is a form of aerobic activity that can also include some body weight or resistance training. The study results have been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
