British wrestling legend’s daughter reveals one thing he missed the most about UK
EXCLUSIVE: Davey Boy Smith's hulking 19st frame was adorned with red, white and blue during his wrestling career, but the global superstar missed one thing about home more than most
The daughter of WWE legend the British Bulldog has revealed the thing he missed most about the UK - his local chippy.
The Wigan-born star, real name Davey Boy Smith, would make a beeline for the Chippy Bar near his family home in Golborne whenever he was home and order his favourite meal of sausage, chips, mushy peas and gravy.
In a wide-ranging interview, his daughter Georgia Smith exclusively told the Daily Star that Davey would often complain the takeaways in North America were no match for those in the UK.
And he would always start the day with a homecooked fry up from his beloved mum Joyce during visits home to keep his 19st muscle-bound frame fuelled.
Georgia said: "The food was the thing he missed the most. He missed the fry ups, he loved his mum's cooking and she would always cook him a breakfast when he went home. And he missed the chippy.
"When he went over to England, the first place he would go to was the chippy. There was a chippy right by his house and that was his favourite location and when he would go there, he would get chips, sausage, gravy and mushy peas.
"He'd always go to the chippy and the Indian restaurants and the Chinese takeaways. Whenever we went out for a Chinese or Indian back home [in North America], he would say it's not as good as in England."
Davey adhered to a gruelling working out regime to keep in shape during his career as a wrestler, that saw him win numerous titles in the WWE, including the Intercontinental, European and Tag Team Championships.
He once told a fitness magazine he would eat eggs for breakfast, followed by a tuna salad for lunch and a steak with a baked potato in the afternoon. But he admitted being a big cheese lover and was often tempted by pizza.
And Georgia, who is campaigning to get Davey recognised in his hometown, told us how he hade a huge appetite and would often gorge down two pizzas by himself when the family ordered a takeaway when she was a youngster.
She said: "Sometimes he had a strict diet, but he ate a lot of pizza. He loved Chicago Deep Dish Pizza in Calgary and he'd order two pizzas, a meat lovers and a Hawaiian pizza and he'd eat both of them. He loved cheese.
"Sometimes he would be on a stricter diet, such as when he was returning to the WWE in 1999. A lot of the time he'd have steak and eggs for breakfast.
"One thing he would never eat was McDonald's. I'd be like 'can we go to McDonald's?' and he would say ok, but he never ate anything from there himself."
But despite his love for fast food and fry ups, Davey - who could bench press 500lb in his pomp - had a surprising secret weapon to burn off the calories and keep fit.
Georgia revealed the powerhouse loved jazzercise, the lycra-clad class that combines dancercise, martial arts and strength training with popular music for a full-body workout that boomed in the 1980s.
She added: "Davey was dedicated to the gym and he had a Stairmaster in his room at home. He would sweat buckets and I remember he could bench press 500lbs.
"When Davey was living in Calgary, when he was home, he would never miss a class of jazzercise. He was the only man in that class, but he never missed it.
"He would go with my mum and my grandmother, he loved it, he said it was great cardio and it burnt a lot of calories."
Davey left the north of England to work for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling organisation as teenager before travelling the world as one of the most recognisable WWE stars during the 90s.
But Georgia said Davey, who died of a heart attack in 2002, loved returning to the UK and missed classic British tv shows like Fawlty Towers.
She revealed: "He was supposed to do a tour of the UK before he passed away. He was really excited about it. He couldn't wait to be home."
Georgia, who manages a website and social media accounts dedicated to her dad's legacy, is also campaigning to get Davey recognised in his hometown.
Davey was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 after a Daily Star campaign, but is yet to be formally acknowledged by Wigan Council despite his global stardom.
The council has refused to grant him a Walk of Fame star in the town only "living residents of Wigan Borough" are eligible, a decision Georgia branded as "ridiculous." You can sign her petition here.
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