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Sam Thompson has revealed he “adores” taking the Tube and despite being a favourite face on television, seldom gets recognised. While the London Underground can at times be the bane of some commuters existance, the former I’m A Celebrity winner, 32, even goes as far as to describe it as “the best of Britain”.
Despite the general unspoken rule of not talking to strangers on the Tube, he will also try to start a conversation with you. Speaking to The Standard, Thompson said: “Do you know what I love about the Tube? It’s the great leveller. No-one cares who you are at 8:30 in the morning when everyone’s trying to get to work. I absolutely adore it. I think the tube is the best of Britain, I really, really do. I go on there and I look around - I love [people] watching. It’s just so great and no-one really cares who anybody is and everyone’s really polite by the way on the Tube.
“No I don’t [get recognised on the Tube]. Well, every now and then. I love taking photos if I’m honest with you - it’s just so nice that people even care!” he adds humbly. “I love talking to people on the tube. There was a time where a guy was listening to mine and Pete [Wick’s Staying Relevant] podcast on the tube so I tapped him on the shoulder and said ‘I’m really sorry mate’ and he went ‘Agggh it’s you!’”.
Thompson also loves the “little wins” that taking public transport affords. He explained: “On the Tube today it was rush hour and it was absolutely rammed as I was going onto the Victoria Line and I was going to try and fit myself onto the train and then I thought do you know what, I’m not going to even bother and then another train came literally about a minute later and I even got a seat.”.
While despite his best efforts he’s yet to convince best friend Wicks to reach for an Oyster Card, Thompson approaches everything with his trademark optimism. He has teamed with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar to encourage the public to recognise their own small wins.
From finding cash in an old wallet to being late and hitting every green light, research carried out by the soft drink giant found that the majority of the British public (77 per cent of 2,000 polled) believe it’s the little things that make them smile.
It further found that 31 percent are experiencing an average of 15 little wins a week. Women seem to embrace this positive trend more with 73 per cent (compared to men at 61 per cent) agreeing that these small moments brighten their day. Thompson, who likes to start his day off by saying “it’s going to be a good one” is all for it.
“You’ve got to look at yourself [in the mirror] and really mean it,” he said. “I believe in it so whole heartedly if you put it out into the universe it’s not going to change that much but it puts it in the right footing. “I was surprised how many wins I actually noticed when I started to look out for them – from nailing a tricky recipe, to just catching up with my sister. Celebrating those little moments together makes them even better.”.
