John Bishop is a very proud father. This week, the star took to Instagram to share a sweet snapshot of his middle child, son Luke, in celebration of his birthday. John, 53, shares three children with his wife, Melanie. And on Wednesday, he shared a touching tribute for Luke, along with two photos – one from Luke's childhood and another showing father and son together in recent times. He wrote: "Happy birthday to my son Luke - a beautiful boy who I used to be able to pick up with one hand but who is now bigger than I am. In these strange times we all know what is most important - love and family."
John Bishop shared a sweet birthday message for his son, Luke
John has been married to Melanie since 1993, welcoming their eldest son, Joe, the following year. Luke was born in 1996, followed by Daniel in 1998. A dedicated family man, John has publicly spoken about his three boys on a number of occasions, and gave a powerful speech at the LGBT awards in 2018, which earned him a standing ovation. John was named Ally of the Year at the ceremony, and told the audience: "I was so pleased to be nominated. I brought my whole family, my wife and my three sons who I love and I am massively proud of.
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"Like all parents we have problems with them. One of my sons has a tattoo on his ankle that was meant to be Africa but looks like Australia, one of my sons mumbles and one of my sons is a gay man. I'll be honest, there's been loads of nights when me and my wife have sat up and worried and worried and worried. What are we going to do if he doesn't stop mumbling?"
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A few months later, during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, John offered up some moving advice for parents of LGBT children. "Having a gay son is just like having a son", the Liverpudlian star said. "Of the top ten things that I even think about him, being gay isn’t even on there. He's just another son.
John pictured with his wife and sons, and his parents
"And I wanted to reach out because I’ve learnt more since I’ve spoken more openly with my son. To the kids who are ten and eleven in the playground, who are standing on their own and don’t know where they belong and what group they belong to and try to play up to something, or feel isolated.
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"And to their parents who think 'I don't know, my son doesn't want to play football, he doesn't fit in.' To say it's okay. Just love them for who they are and allow them to feel safe. And then those little digs and the little knocks and the little abuse that they subtly get that we don't know about, perhaps they won't penetrate as deep."