Byline: Flic Everett
AT A GLANCE...
M SAYS: This is what you imagined your old PE teacher's bedroom would be like - incredibly neat, and stuffed with sporting equipment. Oddly terrifying, but the cuddly toys, wine and chocolate suggest a softer side, so he may let us off our bench presses, if we're good.
JAMES SAYS: `I sleep and read in here, and the en suite's handy for showering after sport. I watch TV or listen to music downstairs - it seems a bit teenage to do that in your room! I haven't spent much time here since I split up with my girlfriend (of seven years)... sigh.'
CUTE 'N' CUDDLY TOYS
M SAYS: Man of iron with a softer side? It's sure beginning to look that way...
JAMES SAYS: `They were from Alison, my ex-girlfriend. We broke up at Christmas. She likes Scooby-Doo, so she bought me one. Luckily we're still friends, but it's far too soon to think about anyone else.'
EDIFYING LITERATURE
M SAYS: Richard Branson's biography? Russian in Three Months? Not our idea of light bedtime reading. Is James plotting world domination?
JAMES SAYS: `The Branson book's brilliant. He had to work to get where he is. It's inspiring. The world tae kwon do championships [see flashy gold necklaces, right] may be in Russia next year, and I've got a Russian physio, so I'm trying to learn a bit. I can say, 'How are you?' and, 'Very well, thank you' so far...'
ALL MANNER OF SPORTING STUFF
M SAYS: Sports equipment in the corner where most guys stack their soft porn? This guy's really serious about the fitness thing...
JAMES SAYS: `I do a bit of weight training but these are mainly for my personal clients, and I play tennis at the leisure club I work for.'
WINE AND CHOCS
M SAYS: Now you're talking. All that `fit' stuff's just a front. A glass? Ooh, if you insist...
JAMES SAYS: `I try to eat fairly healthily, but I do like the odd bit of KFC and
chocolate. You burn it off when you exercise, so it's fine. And a nice glass of wine in the evening is very relaxing. I'm not a fitness fascist or anything.'
FLASHY GOLD NECKLACES
M SAYS: These look like the big chocolate coins we used to get in our Christmas stockings, but obviously they're much more important than that.
JAMES SAYS: `My main sport's tae kwon do (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's chosen method of defence) - I teach it. I won this medal in 1996, when I was European champion, and in 1997 I was third in the world. I don't wear them to the pub, or anything, though.'
MONOCHROME MICKEY
M SAYS: At last, something that's not sports-related. Unless he's simply a tennis ball in novelty disguise.
JAMES SAYS: `I bought it when I went to Disneyland last year with my ex-girlfriend and her family. It was great. We stayed at the resort, and it was a bit like Pontins, with expensive food. We had a pass for the rides, which was fantastic. We were up at seven every day in case we missed anything.'
STRANGE SQUARE PADS
M SAYS: We don't know what they are but they look as if they may involve yet more exertion. This is getting positively unnerving...
JAMES SAYS: `They're focus pads for boxing training and tae kwon do - I hold them up and trainees kick or punch them. Though if I'm not looking, some of my female clients can be quite aggressive, and punch me by mistake.'
