Olympic medal winner Tom Daley spent a lot of his youth at the diving centre in Stratford – but still found time to let his hair down during his time living in the capital. With his new documentary 1.6 Seconds airing on discovery, he sat down with us to chat about first date recommendations, what he’d do as London Mayor and his collection of shot glasses.
Home is …
I live in Los Angeles now, but I lived in London for a very long time: nearly 10 years.
Where do you stay in London?
I would usually stay at my place, but now my friends live there. So now I usually come to different hotels. I’m currently in the Ham Yard, but I don’t necessarily have a favourite. Honestly, I stay wherever I get put.
Where was your first flat?
It was in one of the high rises in Stratford, because that was where the diving pool was. I had no idea where I was going to live in London because I didn’t have that much time. So I thought, first of all I’m going to rent by the pool.
What was your first job?
Diving. Most of the time that I was in London, diving was my thing. So the London Aquatic Centre was my second home. I spent so much time there. I would get there for about 8am and stay until 4.30pm each day.
Where would you recommend for a first date?
I think London has so many incredible parks. I would always recommend getting a picnic basket, getting some of your favourite foods, maybe a little bottle of prosecco, a nice blanket. Before the kids were born, my husband —Dustin Lance Black — and I used to go to St James’s Park and find a quiet little corner under a tree and just sit and enjoy people watching.
Which shops do you rely on?
There’s a place on Bermondsey Street that we always used to go whenever we needed to get a gift for someone. It’s called Trove 167, and it had this amazing, eclectic collection of all kinds of different things: trinkety stuff, furniture, mirrors.
What’s the best meal you’ve had in the capital?
I do quite love the beef Wellington at Bob Bob Ricard. The last time I went there properly was after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. I had a celebration dinner there with my friends and my teammates. And it’s fun to press the call for champagne button. It’s almost like an emergency call button on an aeroplane.
What are your favourite restaurants?
I moved away two years ago, so I feel like I’m not the most in the know, but we used to go to Bob Bob Ricard a lot. It was one of the first places I took my husband to when he came over to the UK. And Duck and Waffle is always fun to go, as a little bit of a novelty. I also really like going to local places. There was a great restaurant called O Ver on Southwark Street, right around the corner from where I used to live. It’s just a hole-in-the-wall Italian place, but it does really good food and has a super chill atmosphere. It was our local for a while.
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?
Maybe get rid of cars for the day and just have everyone walk around and really explore the city. When I come back to London from LA, I always say to myself, “Wow, this place is genuinely beautiful.” I know people take it for granted but actually London is one of the most beautiful cities.
Who is the most iconic Londoner?
Kate Moss.
Where do you go and what do you do to have fun?
I never really got to go “out out” that often when I was in London because I was always training. So I always appreciated going to see a drag show, going to the theatre. Jodie Harsh would always host a drag brunch on a Sunday. But if you really want to go out out, one of the nights that I would go to more often was Feel It at Omeara, at London Bridge. It’s quite a wild queer night, but it’s fun.
What do you collect?
I used to collect shot glasses from every place I went because I thought that was fun when I was 18. On New Year’s Eve, my friends and I would have to do a shot at every place we went. The next year, I went to so many places that I realised that was not going to be a good idea. So I stopped collecting them. When I lived in London, I collected little mirrors. So, we had a wall that was filled with loads of different styles, size and shapes. And I also collect cocktail glasses.
What’s the best thing a cabbie has ever said to you?
People do ask me about my medals: “Oh, why are you not wearing your medals after the Olympics?” I always want to reply, “You know it’s not a necklace. It’s not something that you just wear on the day to day.” Sometimes cab drivers might not say anything until the end of the drive. When it was raining once I had a driver who said: “Oh, don’t dive into the puddle on your way out, mate.” I get lots of diving jokes.
Tom Daley 1.6 Seconds is available now on discovery+
