Tindall Children Inherit Parents' Competitive Spirit, Even at Bedtime

Mike Tindall, the former Rugby World Cup winner, has revealed that his three children with Zara Tindall — Mia, 12, Lena, eight, and five-year-old Lucas — have inherited a strong competitive streak from their athletic parents. This competitiveness, he noted, extends to their daily routines, including the race upstairs to bed.

"Even if it's just a race upstairs to bed, there will be ankle taps," Tindall, 47, told the Henley Literature Festival. He added, "It might lead to a broken leg one day, but they will learn. Hopefully the children will turn out like us."

Tindall, who was known for using ankle taps as a tackling technique during his rugby career, also joked about his children's competitive nature, saying, "And if they are as competitive as their mother, then we are all f****d!"

This fighting spirit, Tindall mentioned, is something he inherited from his father, Philip, who recently passed away after a 25-year battle with Parkinson's disease. Tindall's own journey from a middle-class upbringing in Yorkshire, where his father worked as a bank manager, to becoming a father to children of the royal family, has been a notable one. He married Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne, in 2011.

Speaking alongside his podcast co-presenters James Haskell and Alex Payne on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby, Tindall touched upon his life story, suggesting it could be a potential subject for a television series. When asked by Haskell about the possibility, Tindall responded, "It's the making of a great story isn't it? Waiting for Netflix on that one."