MOVE OVER CROUCHY: ABBEY CLANCY SNUGGLES UP WITH NEW MAN
*** FREE FOR EDITORIAL USE *** Former England footballer Peter Crouch and wife Abbey Clancy star in the new ‘Life with More Chances’ TV ad by Paddy Power Games, where Abbey considers life without her husband, as she’s captured on camera snuggling up with ex-Eastenders star Shaun Williamson.
Model Abbey Clancy considers life without her husband, ex-footballer Peter Crouch, as she is captured on camera snuggling up with a new man.
Luckily for Crouchy, the scenario is all imagined by Paddy Power Games for their latest “Life with More Chances” TV ad.
The new advert asks what if the Brexit referendum never happened? What if VAR had never been introduced? What if Abbey ended up with Britain’s best loved soap star?
And what if Milton Keynes wasn’t so… Milton Keynes?
In it, former England international footballer Crouch watches his real-life wife, Abbey, snuggle up with none other than ex-soap star Shaun Williamson in the bookmaker’s tongue-in-cheek look at those sliding door moments that can define your life, or even the path of history.
Speaking ahead of the TV ad hitting screens tonight, Peter admits: “Seeing Abbey snuggled up with ‘Barry’ (Shaun Williamson) was one of the strangest experiences of my life. I was standing there thinking to myself, you know, what if this actually did happen?!”
From potentially problematic baby names, to meeting her beloved husband, the TV ad sees Abbey consider the many ‘what if’s’ as she drifts into a daydream about the supposed moment she first clapped eyes on the striker turned football pundit.
As part of the ad, Paddy Power transports Abbey back to a nightclub scene in the noughties, where Williamson, better known for his role as Barry from EastEnders, sidles up tp inform her, “my mate fancies you,” nodding in the direction of Crouchy who greets her with a cheeky grin.
Crouch explains: “The attention to detail from Paddy Power on this was epic. The nightclub scene recreated the moment where we first met in the Vampire room of Mosquito nightclub in Liverpool.”
However, in a rewrite of history, Abbey delivers a killer blow to her real-life husband in the TV ad.
“He’s a bit long, isn’t he? No thanks!” she tells Williamson, before returning to the more important business of bopping with her friends to Ma Ya Hi, the latest banger by Moldovan pop group O-Zone.
Snapping back to the present, Abbey looks relieved to cuddle into her hubby’s chest on the sofa. However, as the camera pans out his identity is revealed as Williamson, looking suitably smug as he snuggles Abbey more tightly.
“We’ve all wondered how our lives might be different if given a second chance. Like right now, I’d bet any money Crouchy wishes he didn’t agree to us giving him hair extensions that made him look like Rodney from Only Fools and Horses. But sadly, unlike Paddy Power Games, he won’t get another opportunity to change his mind,” James O’Reilly, Head of Gaming Marketing for Paddy Power said.
Crouch adds: “The worst thing about this ad is it’s so close to reality. I had that mad blond hair, massively baggy jeans, the terrible shirt, and the awful shoes. I didn’t make the initial approach though. It was Abbey that came over to me first, we started chatting and it went from there. I’d like that to go on the record.”
As for Abbey, when asked if she would consider a change of mind if given a second chance, she said: “I would marry Peter again and again. We renewed our vows last Christmas in the Maldives with our family and closest friends. But, if I could go back to 20 years ago, I’d make sure to teach him how to cook and clean a bit better!”
And as for Williamson, he says: “I loved working with Peter and Abbey. They’re such down to earth, lovely people. If I got another chance to do that again, I’d be happy!”
The new ad for Paddy Power Games airs for the first time tonight (Friday, October 27th) on ITV2 during Big Brother.
