Naga Munchetty hosted BBC Breakfast with Charlie Stayt(Image: BBC screengrab)
BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty offered her support to Adam Ramsay-Peaty.
The TV host weighed in after the swimmer opened up in a wide-ranging interview on Thursday’s show in which he discussed his disappointment after not winning gold at the Commonwealth Games, pressure and having to develop a “tough skin” in the spotlight.
“You do know that people really, really like you,” Naga told the sports star as he appeared on the show, as he confessed: “Sometimes I don’t feel like it.”
Adam, who is married to Holly Ramsay, daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, won two bronze medals and one silver at the event but was emotional and spoke out after missing out on gold.
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Adam Ramsay-Peaty appeared on BBC Breakfast(Image: BBC screengrab)
As he appeared on the BBC show, Naga said she was “impressed” with his results but the former Strictly star said: “I guess I’ve got to see it both ways, as an athlete and a human, I guess. You know, this is my first championships in two years, so I’ve got to be pretty happy with the medal haul, but also I know that I am capable of more, in a sense.”
“This week hasn’t been ideal in terms of performance, I’m going to be honest, for various reasons,” he said.
He went on: “I know I work hard. I know, you know, I put everything on the line, every single day, for my job. And that’s what it is, at the end of the day.”
Adam mentioned wanting to “correct” something, and when Naga’s co-host Charlie Stayt asked what he was referring to, he replied: “I don’t know. I think, I think no matter what I say, it’ll be interpreted how it wants to be interpreted, right? I’ve got no control over that. All I can get control over is, obviously, the passion I have, the energy I have.
“But also, I’ve got to show my disappointment, because I don’t believe my performances were good enough. This is not what I worked for. And let’s just be honest, that is sport. And I think we need more of that, more of that real emotion in this world.”
He added: “The stuff I’ve seen over this last few weeks, or, you know, even the last few days in the media, I’m like, OK, I didn’t really say that, but it is what it is. But I think, for me, I just want people to know that, you know, I absolutely give my best.
Naga Munchetty supported Adam Ramsay-Peaty on BBC Breakfast(Image: BBC screengrab)
“That there’s no more to it. And, again, we are in those high-energy, high-passion, but also either high-reward but high-disappointment zones.”
Charlie noted the pressure in sport, and Adam said he had developed his “armour”.
Naga later chimed in, saying: “Adam, you do know that people really, really like you? Even despite all the noise, people admire you and really like you.”
“Well, I appreciate that,” he said. “Thank you, thank you. Sometimes I don’t feel like it, to be honest. But, I guess I’m just me, and I can’t really, well, I can change that. I try and be a lot better than I can, or just try and be a little bit better than I was yesterday. And, if people agree with that, then fine. If people don’t, then that’s also fine.”
“I don’t have to agree with everyone,” he said. “I just want people to know that I absolutely give my best, best every single day.”
Adam also spoke of his “incredible” wife, who is expecting their baby, and added he was also “trying to be the best husband, the best father, the best athlete I can be”.
As the interview wrapped up, Naga said to Charlie: “I do like him. You can’t not like Adam Ramsay-Peaty.”
BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One.