Yahoo News Marco Pierre White says jailed son needed 'sharp shock' earlier
The celebrity chef said he talks to his son several times a day
Marco Pierre White has said the authorities should have given his jailed son a “sharp dose of reality” earlier.
The celebrity chef’s son Marco Pierre White Jr has had a string of troubles and last year he was sentenced to 11 months in prison for shoplifting and possession of a knife.
White, 61, has now opened up about it to The Times, saying that his son had quit drugs and that he would be “out soon”.
Read more: Marco Pierre White's 3D-printed steak throws Good Morning Britain viewers
However, the TV star suggested that he thought his son may have needed a wake-up call from the authorities a little sooner.
“We speak four times a day, but I don’t visit because he says I’m too recognisable,” he said.
“To be honest, I blame the authorities - they should have clamped down and given him a sharp dose of reality earlier. A slapped wrist doesn’t help anyone.”
“A sharp shock when the trouble begins — that’s how a boy matures,” he added.
White Jr, of Corsham, Wiltshire, is known to television viewers for appearing on Big Brother.
He was one of the housemates who signed up for the celebrity edition of the show back in 2016.
However, he didn’t make it very far in the reality TV competition and received his marching orders just days later.
He became a dad in 2019, announcing the arrival of his daughter Arabella Rosa on Instagram.
Read more: Marco Pierre White slammed for saying men 'can absorb pressure of the kitchen better' than women
He told fans that she was a "beautiful angel" and that words couldn't describe how lucky he felt.
Watch: Marco Pierre White Jr first in line for new iPhone - but it doesn't work!
