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Interview
Tim Peake would happily get stuck in a lift with anyone
Ahead of his new tour, the astronaut talks superstitions, practical jokes and why the first thing he wanted to eat after returning from space was Hawaiian pizza
Tim Peake brings his new show around the country this September, exploring the evolution of space travel and sharing stories from both his own time in space and that of his fellow astronauts. ASTRONAUTS: The Quest To Explore Space will see Peake take audiences through the incredible experience of space travel, and introduce adventurers young and old to the fascinating history of man’s exploration of the universe. As the first British astronaut to work on board the International Space Station and conduct a space walk, Peake knows a thing or too on this topic – but naturally we decided to grill him about bad jobs, superstitions and pineapple on pizza. What else are you going to do when you’re stuck in a lift?
Who would you most want to be stuck in a lift with?
David Attenborough. I just think he has such a wealth of experience.
Who would you least like to be stuck on a lift with?
Do you know what? I can’t think of anybody I’d least like. I don’t really dislike anyone. I always like to think that everybody has something that they can teach you. You’ve always got something that you can learn off everybody, even if you don’t like their personality, and it’s up to you to try and find out that one thing that you can learn off somebody. So I’m going to say that I would quite happily give anybody a go, to find out that one thing that I could learn off them.
What is the last gig or live show that you went to?
Chris Evans’s CarFest, which is always a really fun weekend.
What’s on your rider?
I’m really easy when it comes to riders. I’m not very high maintenance, but I do like a Cadbury’s fruit and nut chocolate bar to keep me going with a bit of an energy boost.
What did your 12-year-old self think that you’d be doing now?
My 12-year-old self probably really hoped that I’d be a pilot. That was something that got ingrained in me at a young age, going to air shows with my dad, and I was really fortunate to have a brilliant career in the army Air Corps as an instructor pilot, and then later a test pilot. think my 12-year-old self would be delighted if I was to go and say, “Hey, do you know what? You’re going to not just be a test pilot, but go on and be an astronaut.”
What’s the worst advice you’ve ever gotten?
I think the worst advice was to not get on the property ladder when I was much younger. In army life, you tend to be moving around the whole world in army accommodation, and then with the space agency, moving around the world in rented accommodation. So I think that the worst advice was to not be told to get a house when I was much younger.
What’s the film that you’ve rewatched the most in your life?
Probably Apollo 13. I absolutely love it. It’s a brilliantly acted, wonderful suspense movie, and of course, it’s just this epitome of humans working together to solve a problem and bring people back from space safely. I absolutely love it.
What’s the worst job you’ve had in your life?
I think the worst job was probably when I when I first started working stacking shelves in the supermarket, and it was pretty repetitive, pretty dull, pretty boring, but I had some schoolmates who were working with me, and I was in charge of the dairy section, and so as a joke, as I would kind of go up and just say a quick hello to one of my mates, I would slip an egg in their pocket, knowing that at some point in the day they were going to lean against something and the egg would shatter. Little practical jokes like that that kind of made it a little bit more exciting and interesting.
Did they ever get their own back?
They used to get their own back on me by unscrewing the lids to the milk cartons, and then as I was loading them up on the truck, on the trolley, the milk would be going everywhere.
What’s your most controversial food opinion?
The first meal I had when I got back from space was highly controversial, because it was Hawaiian pizza. I know people love it or hate it. It’s a bit like Marmite. But I was craving fresh fruit and I was craving fresh bread, because they’re two of the things that we don’t really get in space, and my brain just said, “Oh, Hawaiian pizza. That sounds great.” I actually do quite like Hawaiian pizza. That’s probably the most controversial food opinion I’ve got.
If you had to have a song playing every time you walked into a room, what would it be?
Oh, it would be ELO, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’. I I think it’s just such an uplifting, optimistic song. You can’t help but just smile and be happy when you hear that. So I absolutely love it. That’s probably the song that makes me smile every time I hear it.
Do you have any superstitions?
I don’t think I’m hugely superstitious, but if I’ve got the choice, I won’t walk under a ladder, and for some reason I keep my fingers crossed if I pass somebody on the stairs. I think I was just told that as a kid. I’m not really a superstitious person, and it doesn’t bother me if I don’t comply with superstitions. But what was quite funny was, when flying with the Russians from Kazakhstan, they’re very superstitious, and you go through these rituals before launch of getting blessed by their Russian Orthodox priest, and then signing the door before launch, and even peeing on the back right tire of the bus on the way to the launch pad, because that’s what Yuri Gagarin did. You kind of follow this routine, and they all sit down for a few moments before leaving a room, just kind of in quiet reflection, which is perhaps not a sensible thing to do. Maybe it is a sensible thing to do because it stops you from forgetting your car keys or leaving the oven on or something like that.
Did it make you feel safer, following their routine?
No, not really. Training and preparation makes me feel safe, rather than superstition.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I love salt and vinegar crisps, a really guilty pleasure. I have to really protect myself and just not buy them, because if they’re in the house, I’ll go to the cupboard and just eat them.
This is a two-part question. The first part is, who would you want to play you in a biopic? And the second part is, who do you think would actually play you?
Oh, gosh, wow. Probably Damian Lewis. I think I would want to play me. I think he’s a brilliant actor. Who do I think would play me? I have no idea. It’s never even kind of crossed my mind to think about that one.
Do you have any predictions for the rest of 2025?
I think space is going to be really exciting time. I think we’re going to see Starship get up there successfully, which is going to be brilliant, because that’s paving the way for us going back to the moon. In terms of prediction, my knowledge runs out beyond space, so I’ll leave it there.
