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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Rich Pelley

Sunday with Jill Scott: ‘I don’t like to sit still for too long’

Jill Scott, pundit for Channel 4
‘Sunday dinner tastes better when someone else has done the cooking’: Jill Scott. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Sundays growing up? I was always muddy as a child, either after playing 90 minutes of a football match, or from a cross-country race. It would end with my mum saying: ‘Take off your shin pads and boots at the door.’ She’d run a hot bath. The water was always so mucky I needed another one.

Sunday musts? Walking the dog, and, if I can, heading out for a Sunday dinner – it always tastes better when someone else has done the cooking. I live between Manchester and Liverpool, so there are a lot of options. It doesn’t have to be anywhere posh, just a local pub. We usually have to force Winnie, our bulldog, out of the house with a bag of treats. She probably comes back bigger than when she started.

Sunday telly? I’m not really a TV person; I don’t like to sit still for too long. It probably comes from being such an active child. It’s something I’ve had to think about more since retiring. Films I prefer: anything with a twist that gets my brain thinking. I recently enjoyed Where the Crawdads Sing.

Do you exercise? When I was playing football, Sunday was the main game day. At 37 you’re not going to go to the local field and start kicking a ball around. Maybe I could, but I’m stiffer now, having put a lot of miles through my knees. I wouldn’t change it for the world. These days I might get out on a bike ride or a run.

Do you miss Sunday football? Definitely the competitiveness. I liked that challenge: are you going to win or lose? I should really get in a game of Monopoly to keep up that competitiveness.

Monday prep? When I was playing, Sunday was the main game day. Now, I see it as a reset day before a busy week. They say: do something today that will make tomorrow easier. I think I need to listen to that more. I’m going to Germany tomorrow for a week. Have I packed my bag?

Jill Scott has ‘signed’ with Holland & Barrett to challenge the nation to keep moving this summer and raise funds for Sport Relief hollandandbarrett.com

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