TV’s Timmy Mallett on the ice cream that changed his life

Timmy Mallett on Good Morning Britain

Children’s TV star Timmy Mallett finds investing tediously boring but necessary to change the world for the better, he tells Donna Ferguson.

Mallett, who famously used to whack children on the head with an inflatable hammer on TV in the 1980s, thinks ethical investments have a huge power to make a difference.

He would also like the nation to invest more in renewable energy sources.

Now 64, he lives in Berkshire and is a successful artist. His memoir, Utterly Brilliant – My Life’s Journey – has just been published.

What did your parents teach you about money?

That budgeting and preparation is important. In his late 40s, when I was about ten years old, my dad decided to train to be a clergyman. This meant he had two years away from home being a student. My mum was a housewife, so there was no income during those years. We were entirely dependent upon a small amount of family savings and a couple of bequests from relatives who left a little in their wills. It was a very challenging period.

What was the first paid work you ever did?

Gardening on a Saturday as a teenager for the neighbours. Mowing the lawn was good but digging weeds was hard work. I can’t remember how much I got paid.

As a student I had a holiday job selling brushes door-to-door as a Betterware salesman. I remember getting a few strange looks when I transported the goods around to customers in a wheelbarrow.

My first proper paid job was as an assistant for a couple of weeks at Radio Oxford. That was my dream job in the media that opened the door to my career. The few pounds I earned were irrelevant. I’d have done that work for nothing.

TV presenter Timmy Mallett outside TV studios in his heyday of presenting children's TV

TV presenter Timmy Mallett outside TV studios in his heyday of presenting children’s TV

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

No. I come from the lucky generation that was given a grant to go to university and I had my tuition fees paid by the state. Extra work was for pocket money and if I didn’t have enough for the train, I had a thumb and would hitchhike.

Are you quite good at living on a budget?

I can be. I did this big pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago, cycling across three European countries. I travelled 3,500 kilometres in two months on a budget of less than £3,000. It was revealing to find I can live on modest funds.

What was the best year of your life in terms of the money you made?

1990. I’d rather not say how much money I earned, but it was a magical year. My children’s TV show Wacaday seemed to be the biggest thing on TV. Pinky Punky, my cute and cuddly Mallet, came on to the show and still sells today at timmymallett.co.uk to grown-up wideawakers who want to remember the highlights of their childhood. I also had a No 1 million-selling hit record around the world, Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, and starred in my first panto in London. But the best highlight of the year was marrying Mrs Mallett. I struck lucky that year.

A promo image of children's TV star Timmy Mallett in Yorkshire TV's Timmy Towers

A promo image of children’s TV star Timmy Mallett in Yorkshire TV’s Timmy Towers

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought yourself just for fun?

Painting materials. I’m an artist now and my work is collected across the world. I always use the best quality paints, brushes and canvases in my artwork. There’s no point in skimping.

What was the most expensive thing you ever used on Wacaday?

It wasn’t Mallett’s Mallet. It was a wacky pirate ship with pink sails, cannons, and a plank for the pirate to walk along, then fall into a bowl of shark-infested custard.

What’s the biggest money mistake you’ve ever made?

Not changing banks more often. Payment Protection Insurance and the crash has harmed our trust in the banking sector. I’d like banks to be more competitive. I’d also like the system of changing banks to be made simpler.

And your best money decision?

In far north Queensland in Australia, I bought an ice cream with hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top, a chocolate flake and raspberry sauce.

It was so good, I got into a conversation with the person next to me: an estate agent who admired the ice cream and introduced me to a piece of land on the Great Barrier Reef. I went on to build my own pole house on stilts in the rainforest. If I hadn’t bought that ice cream, I would never have thought of such a wonderful thing.

Do you save into a pension or invest in the stock market?

I do. It’s just a shame investing is so boring. It’s completely and utterly tediously, monotonously boring – but what your investment can do can be fabulous. Ethical investments are my thing. I want to encourage thoughtful innovation and businesses and people who are prepared to dream big, work things out and change the world for the better.

I started investing with my financial adviser when he operated out of the basement of his flat. He and I shared a similar ambition: to use money to make a difference. His company, Holden & Partners, makes a massive ethical difference around the world.

Do you own any property?

Yes. I own property in the UK and Australia, which means the sun always shines on my land. For me, property is where you put down roots and live your life. It’s not about the noughts. It’s not important how much property is worth, it’s about the quality of the life you lead living there.

What’s your one little luxury that you like to treat yourself to?

Glasses. I’ve got squillions of pairs and I never walk past an optician without checking what they have in the chuck-out drawer – in case they have something special that’s just waiting for Mallett to walk in.

If you were Chancellor of the Exchequer, what’s the first thing you’d do?

I’d invest in renewables – and give more tax breaks to the sector.

I’m keen on transport issues such as cycling and public transport. I’d like to see some old railway lines reopened to make the whole country more carbon neutral accessible.

I’d also like better spaces for bikes on the trains please.

Do you donate to charity?

Yes. Down’s Syndrome is close to my heart because of my late brother Martin.

He’s the inspiration for my Camino bike ride that I’ve written about in my book Utterly Brilliant – My Life’s Journey. Even with language and learning difficulties, Martin reached his potential every day before dying in March 2018, aged 64.

My Camino ride was to raise awareness of reaching our potential, however rich or poor we are.

What’s your No 1 financial priority?

Not to let money become the most important thing in my life. I’m really just its custodian and beneficiary while I’m here on the planet.

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