Gary Barlow on the positives of lockdown: I’m getting so much done

Gary Barlow has said that he is enjoying being in lockdown because he is “getting so much done”, while joking that it is “heaven” for him.

The Take That star said that the few positives from the coronavirus crisis also include being able to spend more time with his family, because getting his children together is usually “tricky”.

Barlow told Dermot O’Leary on BBC Radio 2: “I tell you, we’ve been self-isolating in studios, I mean this is heaven for me, this is heaven, I’m loving this.

“I feel like I’m gloating when I tell people, but this is the time I’ve been waiting for, when there’s nothing other than music to do.

“And I’ve got to be honest, it couldn’t really have come at a better time, so I’m really filling my time wisely, loving it.”

Barlow, who has three children with wife Dawn – son Daniel, 19, and daughters Emily, 17, and Daisy, 11 – said that they have “really been enjoying our cooking” in recent weeks.

He added: “We’ve enjoyed our family time, because our kids are a bit older now so getting them all in one place is always tricky.

“They’re all with us, so it’s actually been really nice, and I think they’ve actually settled into the fact now that this is quite serious and that they can’t go out, and they’ve kind of given in and so you know we’re arguing every day, it’s fantastic.”

Barlow also joked that he is having “a lot of drink if I’m honest at the moment” along with a frittata every evening at 7pm.

The singer-songwriter is currently hosting “crooner sessions” over Instagram, where he sings a duet with another music star over a video call.

He has so far sung with the likes of Ronan Keating, Alfie Boe, Jack Savoretti, Beverley Knight and Jason Donovan, and he said they are now a part of his new routine.

O’Leary said: “So you’ve got the old crooners on at five, then cocktail o’clock and then a 7pm frittata. That sees you through.”

Barlow replied: “Mate that’s it, that’s my evening right there.”

However, he did admit to one negative about lockdown.

He said: “I don’t mind this lockdown, I think there’s lots of positives, but one of the negatives is that when someone like you rings me and say ‘will you come on?’ – I’ve got no excuses.

“I’ve got nothing I’m doing. There’s only one left now, and it’s ‘washing my hair’, and I feel like people know what that means, so I can’t use it, I can’t use it so here we are.”