Tanya Bardsley has revealed she'll never let her husband, Macclesfield FC assistant manager, Phil Bardsley, appear on Strictly Come Dancing. Although the TV star and former model admits the former Manchester United full back would be great on the show, she simply couldn't allow it to happen.
The family who have previously appeared on ITVBe's Real Housewives of Cheshire are now opening the doors of their lavish home to their own show – The Bardsley Bunch which airs next week. Although they've both had impressive careers, Tanya admits that there are a string of shows she would love to appear on.
But Phil, 39, has had his options limited to just game shows. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Tanya said: "I'd love to do to Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! I've always said I'd never let Phil do Strictly though. He'd be really good on it but there's no chance on Earth I'd let him gyrate on a dancer.
"No chance on Earth. I'm too jealous, I'm a psychopath, I'd drag him off by his ears." Phil interrupted adding: "Well that doesn't leave much option for me does it? I'll go on Catchphrase." "You'd be brilliant on Blankety Blank," laughed Tanya. Elsewhere, Phil said he'd had his eye on appearing on the celebrity edition of Tipping Point.
"I wouldn't get any questions right, so I wouldn't go on them," laughed Tanya. Speaking about their show finally airing, Tanya said: "I'm really excited. I watched episode one last week and it's hilarious, absolutely hilarious." Previously, Phil has ruled out appearing on reality TV, despite his brief cameos on Real Housewives.
"We had to wear him down," said Tanya when asked on how she persuaded Phil to take part. She went on to add: "Complete peer pressure from the whole family but we got there." Although both have had glittering careers, Tanya admits that having their own show was "a lot harder" than shows, including Housewives.
"Even when I'm not filming, I've got to be there for the kids filming. It was a lot, but I've loved it," she said. However, there was one moment which made Tanya and Phil question why they decided to film the show. She says that she ended up with the "three big boys," husband Phil and sons Rocco and Renzi during a camper van holiday to Blackpool.
"We ended up in just a big portaloo on wheels," but says if she heads out on another camper van holiday, she would go for alone time with Phil. Speaking about the hilarious break, Phil said: "We were in a rush when we got there and we didn't set the gas and everything up properly for breakfast the next day."
In one scene, Tanya's mum Julie "runs" her foot over with Tanya saying: "She just stays on my foot and she didn't believe me." Phil says there is "loads of stuff" in the show which allows fans to get a real glimpse of the family, including: "Tanya learning how to cook," he laughed.
The Bardsley Bunch won't see any heirs and graces with Tanya teasing that her "little monkeys" will be "wild" – showing a real insight into family life. "There's one scene and I'm like 'oh my boys' and they walk in, in tuxedoes – I'm so proud and in the next minute, I'm shouting because he's sticking his middle finger up at the camera."
But having both been in the business since 2003, Tanya admits that the biggest thing she's learnt about herself – she "can't keep her mouth shut," as Phil joked: "That's nothing new, is it?" This is seen in one episode, with Tanya oversharing with some of her friends about Phil's manscaping.
"Phil's got a d**k-fringe," she laughed. Explaining the bombshell, Tanya revealed: "He was in the shower for a long time, obviously he had a razor and he got a bit experimental. He walked out and he's got a d**k-fringe. I told Jenny Powell this. As soon as it came out I was like 'S**t, he's going to kill me!' because I'd said it on camera, I had to tell him on camera that I said it.
"He took it well." Although he's been married to Tanya since 2014, Phil admitted: "Nothing surprises us with Tanya, with what comes out of her mouth." She joked that she often told her Housewives co-stars about Phil's manhood and joked he should be proud as she would also tell them if it wasn't up to scratch.
"I appreciate the compliment," Phil joked. When asked about their relationship, Phil joked that he was there to "put fires out" after Tanya's hilarious outbursts. This show will be different to how Tanya has been seen on TV as she won't be getting "dolled up" all the time, only when she's heading on a night out.
"We're slouching around, the crew have become sort of part of the family, we don't do scenes – we're just being us," she said. Phil added: "It's more off the cuff stuff is what people want to see." This year, Tanya returned to Housewives with Leanne Brown as a guest for the tenth anniversary.
She said: "I do miss Housewives, I love going back as a guest because I get to see everyone, have a good time – drop a bomba nd then f**k off. I just don't have any of the backlash, it's great!" But could there be a series two of The Bardsley Bunch? "We're not in control of that, it's not my control unfortunately. That just depends on how people see the show," said Phil as Tanya excitedly jumped at the opportunity of him not ruling it out."
