O’Connor, 80: child is reason to stay in shape

Entertainer Des O’Connor has denied he was “selfish” to become a father so late in life.

The 80-year-old said his son, Adam, age seven, kept him young.

He told Hello! magazine: “I want to be with him for as long as I can, and that’s another reason to keep myself in good shape.

“I don’t have a strict health regime but I do think you have to take care of yourself.

“I’ve never drunk heavily but I drink even less now. I exercise but nothing too strenuous. I try to keep myself in good nick.”

He said he was not concerned about the criticism aimed at him when Adam was born and when he married his second wife, Jodie, who is 37 years his junior.

He said: “I think I’m more concerned that Adam might be concerned one day that his dad is a bit older than everybody else’s.

“Happily, though, I’m not experiencing that at the moment. I had people saying I was selfish. But what’s selfish about that?

“How can you say to a woman you’ve been with for 15-odd years, ‘No, I’ve got four and we’re not having any more?’ That would be selfish.”

O’Connor said he was equally unconcerned about the age gap between himself and Jodie.

He claimed: “There are no rules, no regulations, no time limit on love. You either want to be with someone or you don’t.”