Michael Owen has revealed there are some moments from his new reality show he would rather keep private. The former Liverpool and England legend appeared on Thursday's (August 27) BBC Breakfast alongside daughter Gemma to promote their new Prime Video series, Meet the Owens, which gives viewers an insight into the family's life as they navigate being owners of a massive 170-acre racehorse yard.
Michael Owen on 'boring' reputation
Speaking to hosts Charlie Stayt and Sarah Campbell, Michael admitted there are "probably a couple" of things he would not want aired as he opened up about his new reality series with daughter Gemma. Asked by Sarah whether there was anything they had done for the show that they did not want viewers to see, Gemma said the experience had been overwhelmingly positive.
"To be fair there has not been that much but it has been really nice," she said. "The crew we have had and the team have just been amazing and it's made the whole process really enjoyable. Nothing was scripted and no storylines were set up. It was really important that everything felt authentic and with the crew we absolutely had that."
Unseen side teased
Michael agreed, stressing that the family wanted the series to feel natural rather than staged. "We are not actors so we are happy to do this - no scripted stuff, we just want it to be organic and about us really and for that to come across," he said. However, the 46-year-old admitted there were some moments he would rather keep private. "There are probably a couple things I wouldn't want aired," Michael confessed, although he failed to elaborate.
Gemma then teased that viewers would get to see a side of her famous dad that they may not have expected. "They'll see a different side to dad. He's entertaining, funny..." she said. Michael jokingly interrupted: "Everyone thinks I'm boring." Gemma agreed that her father had developed something of a reputation for being less than exciting. "Everyone thinks he's boring and he's got a bit of a reputation for being boring but I think they'll see a different side to him," she said.
Why the 'boring' label stuck
Michael went on to explain why he believes that reputation has followed him throughout his career, despite his family and friends seeing a very different personality behind closed doors. "My kids have always said 'everyone thinks you're dead boring, why do they think you're boring?'" he recalled. He then took viewers back to the beginning of his extraordinary football career, when he burst onto the international scene as an 18-year-old at the 1998 World Cup.
"I try to take them back to the day and when I first came onto the scene I scored a goal in the World Cup and another guy, who was extremely famous at the time - David Beckham - he had the opposite experience," Michael explained. "He got a red card and he was sort of the villain at the time and I was this fresh-faced young 18-year-old and the media built me up to be this angelic, whiter-than-white character and my agent obviously cashed in on that and thought that is a fantastic image.
"I think that is what was built and was sort of the foundation of what people think of me early on and that has never really left." Despite his public image, Michael insisted those closest to him know there is much more to his personality. "So all my mates and kids think I'm half mad and the rest of the world think I'm not and that's fine," he said.
BBC Breakfast airs everyday from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer and Meet the Owens will be available to stream on Prime Video on August 28.
