I’ve been completely hooked by Tom Daley lately, and it’s not for his diving! Seriously, that look he gave Kate Garraway on The Celebrity Traitors was instantly iconic – everyone was talking about it. Now, he’s moving on to knitting, and I have a feeling he’s going to make it as popular as The Great British Bake Off did for baking – think knitted everything is about to be huge!
We’re in a beautiful part of Ayrshire, Scotland, filming a new Channel 4 reality show called ‘Game of Wool’. The show is searching for the UK’s most talented amateur knitter, and Daley – one of the hosts – is clearly excited by the incredible variety of wool and knitting needles available here at the farm’s ‘Yarn Barn’. There are wools of every color, texture, and weight, and needles ranging from incredibly fine to surprisingly large!
It’s been over ten years since Tom Daley first appeared on TV, coaching celebrities on the diving show Splash!, and now he’s landed his first presenting role – and he’s really enjoying it. He excitedly shared his passion for knitting and crochet, speaking so quickly it was hard to follow! He explained how much you can create in a short time with just a couple of needles or a hook, and emphasized the incredible benefits of these crafts.
Knitting helps me escape daily stresses and tap into my creativity. It brings me fully into the present moment, letting go of worries about the past or future. I truly believe it was key to my success at the Tokyo Olympics – the Covid-delayed Games created a lot of time for overthinking, but knitting allowed me to stay focused and grounded in the present. He paused, taking a deep breath.
He wasn’t as passionate about this competition as he was about diving, likely because diving had a lot of external pressure. He suspects the contestants will feel similarly stressed in the Yarn Barn, wanting to make a good impression on the judges, designers, and knitting experts, Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell. He’s right – the show is surprisingly tense. After watching the first two episodes, it’s clear the contestants feel the pressure of tight deadlines, being pushed outside their skills, and the risk of elimination. For them, the stakes feel just as high as they were for Daley during the Olympics.
I’ve been watching Tom Daley for years, and it still blows my mind that he’s only 31! Considering everything he’s accomplished – and everything he’s been through while in the spotlight – he still has this incredibly youthful energy. Since he stepped away from competitive diving last year, it feels like we’re finally getting to know the real Tom. It’s great to see his playful side, but even more importantly, he’s starting to talk about the tougher, less glamorous realities of being an elite athlete, and that’s really powerful.
Tom Daley, Britain’s most successful diver, officially retired last year after a remarkable career. He first briefly retired after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were actually held in 2021 due to the pandemic. Over five Olympic Games, he won five medals: one gold, one silver, and three bronze. Remarkably, he began his Olympic journey at just 14 years old in 2008. He earned his first bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, finally achieved gold in the 10m synchronized event with Matty Lee at Tokyo, and secured his place in history as Britain’s most decorated diver with a silver medal in Paris last year.
He says presenting is much easier than diving, mostly because it’s not as physically strenuous. When asked if it’s less painful, he jokes about avoiding head injuries and belly flops. He’s also found the experience enjoyable because he’s gotten to know the judges and contestants well, describing them all as a close-knit, albeit quirky, ‘family.’ He’s happy to be able to show a different side of his personality through presenting.
He’s also hoping the show will break down common, unfair ideas about who knits, challenging both sexism and ageism. “Knitting shouldn’t be seen as something only certain people do, and I think this show will demonstrate that,” he explains. He highlights contestant Simon, a former marine who now works in construction, saying, “He’s going to completely change people’s expectations about who enjoys knitting!”
During the show, Simon shared that someone once suggested knitting wasn’t ‘manly’ enough and that he should be doing a puzzle instead. Daley mentioned he hasn’t personally faced negative comments, but the media attention his Olympic knitting received speaks volumes. He views knitting as a way of understanding life, explaining that when you undo your work, you’re building on what you’ve already learned, not starting over. This has helped him be more forgiving of his mistakes, something he struggled with previously. He’s now much kinder to himself when things don’t go as planned.
With so much focus on harmful ideas about what it means to be a man, now feels like the perfect time to highlight a different side – men who knit. Would the author encourage figures like Donald Trump and the male-dominated tech industry to take up the hobby? He jokes, “Are you asking if knitting can fix everything?” and admits, “I’m not sure it will help them specifically.”
Tom Daley currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband, filmmaker Dustin Lance Black, and their two sons, seven-year-old Robbie and two-year-old Phoenix. He’s a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and has seen significant progress during his life, but he’s now concerned about a potential reversal of those gains. Recent announcements, like Trump’s plans to end diversity and inclusion programs, are particularly worrying. Daley notes that it’s a frightening time for minority groups globally and especially in the US, and he feels like opinions are moving backwards. While Los Angeles feels progressive, he’s found that moving to the US has meant a significant cultural adjustment.
I remember interviewing Tom Daley for the first time thirteen years ago, right before the London Olympics. He was just seventeen, incredibly polite, but clearly going through a really tough time, and he somehow managed to smile through it all. His dad, Rob – who meant the world to him – had recently passed away from a brain tumor. On top of that, there was immense pressure from the public and the Olympic team, and he was desperate to deliver. He told me later just how much weight was on his shoulders: it was a home Games, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in front of his loved ones. He also felt responsible for the future of British diving – a medal was crucial to secure continued funding. He admitted he really struggled with things like eating issues and anxiety leading up to the competition, and it was heartbreaking to hear him talk about it.
Earlier this year, in the documentary Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds (named after the time it takes to complete a 10m dive), Tom Daley opened up about his struggles with bulimia and body dysmorphia. He explained that he first became aware of his eating disorder in late 2011, when people within British diving began to focus on his physical appearance as much as his performance. He recalled being told he was overweight, which he found absurd. He acknowledged the comment with a simple “Yep,” and the interviewer remembers being struck by how thin he was at the time.
Daley was deeply affected when Alexei Evangulov, the performance director, told him he needed to lose weight. Daley admits he was inexperienced at the time and reacted by drastically cutting his food intake. This left him severely underfueled for training, leading to intense hunger and eventually, a period of binge eating and bulimia. He realized he wasn’t providing his body with enough calories to support his training.
He described a difficult period where he felt isolated, explaining that men weren’t encouraged to discuss eating disorders or emotions at the time. He noted that it’s become easier to open up about these issues over the years, and sharing his struggles was key to overcoming them. He remembers it being a year of intense self-discovery and grappling with his body image, something that had lasting effects on him. He paused, reflecting on the experience.
Looking back, I definitely came up in a sports world where coaches felt free to really lay into you – it was a pretty tough, even bullying, environment. Things are thankfully different now, and I think that’s led to athletes feeling more in control of their own careers. Was it easy? Absolutely not. It was often traumatic, but honestly, I believe it shaped me into the athlete I became. I often wonder if I’d have reached the same level without that kind of pressure. These days, coaches are much more respectful, which is great, but it also means athletes have to dig deeper for that internal drive. It’s not enough to just show up; if you want to be truly elite, you’ve got to have that fire within you – it has to come from right here,” he said, tapping his chest.
Tom Daley has shared that he continues to deal with body dysmorphia, and his husband has been a major source of support. He believes unrealistic body expectations are common within the gay community. Daley wants to stay in athletic shape, prioritizing his mental health and enjoyment of exercise. While he’s no longer training for the Olympics, he focuses on staying fit and healthy so he can live a long life for his children. He also admits that photo shoots often require him to be shirtless, and he wants to feel confident in those situations.
Even though he’s in fantastic shape – many viewers saw that in his scene on The Celebrity Traitors – he still feels insecure when he goes to the gym. He explained that, as an Olympian, he actually dreads going because he worries about being judged by others. He goes to an Equinox gym in LA, which is full of people, and finds the environment intimidating.
I used to have very structured workouts at the diving gym, but now I feel lost when I go to a regular gym because I’m not familiar with the equipment. That’s why I asked my strength coach to create weekly workout plans for me.
He’s learned to be much kinder to himself, and it’s made a big difference. He used to base his entire self-worth on how well he was doing in diving, but realizing he was more than just an athlete – a parent, husband, friend, son, even a knitter – gave him a new outlook and helped him thrive.
Was having a family the turning point for you? “I think it was. Going into lockdown was a huge wake-up call. That’s when I really started knitting. It made me realize you can’t control everything, and things can change quickly, so it’s important to appreciate what you do have.”
After the pandemic restrictions lifted and competitions resumed, he was incredibly thankful the Olympics were still held and that his family had stayed healthy. Standing at the competition, he realized that their love wouldn’t depend on his performance, which was a huge relief. He used to put immense pressure on himself during previous Olympics, desperately wanting to succeed. But in Tokyo, he decided to simply enjoy the experience, and that’s when he ultimately won the gold medal.
It’s mid-October, and I’m chatting with Daley over video call from Los Angeles. His show, The Celebrity Traitors, is currently airing and in its second week, and he tells me he really enjoyed being a part of it. I complimented his sweaters on the show, wondering if they were his designs, but he explained that the BBC wouldn’t let him wear his own knitwear brand.
He apparently knitted constantly while on set, especially when staying in his hotel room. With limited contact and downtime, he was grateful to have the hobby to keep him occupied. He tried to get the other contestants interested in learning to knit, but they never actually scheduled a lesson. He seemed hesitant to share too much detail, and it was later revealed that his character was eliminated from the show shortly after this interview.
He’s really enjoying his new job on TV, especially because it’s something the whole family can enjoy. His son Robbie loves watching The Traitors, and the boys even got to visit the set of Game of Wool. While two-year-old Phoenix isn’t quite ready to knit—he prefers to grab the yarn and run around with it—Robbie has already learned to knit using a machine and has even tried crocheting a chain.
He hopes the series will inspire viewers to try knitting or crochet. He admits he never imagined himself becoming so passionate about it – if someone had told him five years ago he’d be a knitting enthusiast, let alone host a knitting competition on TV, he’d have found it hilarious. Now, knitting is a cherished part of his daily routine, something he looks forward to each evening after his kids are asleep. He believes knitting has profoundly improved his life and has the potential to benefit many others.
Outfit details: Blue jumper by Stella McCartney, green top and pink trousers by Drew Kent.
Photography: Christina Kenohan; Styling: James Yardley; Retouching: KickedPixel; Photography assistant: Paul Reich; Styling assistant: Sasha Venn; Grooming: Ana Cruzalegui.
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2025-10-28 03:43