Has London forgotten how to have fun? Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson's mission to get Londoners playing again
Forever young
For most people, wandering through central London on a weekday involves headphones in, head down, and a fairly committed relationship with your phone screen.
Sam Thompson had other ideas. As part of the LEGO Group’s World Play Day celebrations, the Made in Chelsea TV star, I'm A Celebrity winner, and radio presenter took to the streets of the capital armed with LEGO bricks, inviting strangers to stop, talk and, crucially, play. The idea behind it is simple but increasingly urgent. New research from the LEGO Group suggests that half of UK parents say work or long hours are stopping them from playing with their families as much as they would like, despite evidence that just five hours of play a week can significantly boost wellbeing.
For Sam, though, the issue goes beyond schedules. It is about something more fundamental. Somewhere along the way, he thinks, adults stopped feeling allowed to play at all.
“I find it a real shame that adults almost feel embarrassed to play now,” he says. “As a child and a teenager, you are taught it is good for you, good for your mind, good for your development, and then suddenly we decide as adults that it is not the way to go anymore. I do not understand the science behind it at all.”
It is not just a campaign talking point for him, either. He circles back to it repeatedly, almost surprised at how normal it has become to lose that side of yourself, especially in the big city where life can become so serious.
“Play for me has been so important and has got me through loads of times in my life,” he says. “I think it is something that should stay with you forever.”
Why play never really leaves you
Spend any time with Sam, and it does not take long for the conversation to drift towards childhood energy, imagination and chaos. The man has more energy than you thought was possible without consuming your own body weight in sugar, and it's immediately endearing.
In his case, fun often involves his nephew, whom he credits with helping him reconnect with the kind of unfiltered creativity most adults quietly abandon.
“I’ve got a nephew and one of my favourite things is to play with him,” he says. “What I thought I would love about it and what I actually love are two very different things. I love seeing his reaction to things I used to do when I was a kid. You can see the wonder in his eyes, like his imagination is just going.”
That sense of wonder, he says, is infectious. It is not about the LEGO sets or the finished product, but what happens in the process. “You can see his brain thinking, like this is an actual castle I have made or this is a car zooming around. It is like he is in a sort of flow state. I just love that so much.”
He pauses on that idea, that adults are the ones who have forgotten something, rather than children being the ones who need to learn it.
“I really hope I do not lose that at any point,” he adds.
London, parks and never really growing up
For someone who has spent much of his life in London, Sam is clear about where his own sense of play still lives. Not in nightlife or big city landmarks, but in something far simpler.
“The parks”, he says without hesitation. “There is something magical about a city park. You have got all these buildings everywhere, and then suddenly greenery. I have spent so much of my childhood in parks, playing football with my mates, pretending I was a wizard, building things, doing all sorts.”
Even now, that feeling has not really left him. “That magic as an adult is still there,” he says. “I wonder if it would be the same for someone who did not grow up in a city. For me, a park is everything.”
It is also where his idea of “proper play” still exists in full force. Not curated experiences or structured activities, but the kind of messy, improvised afternoons that tend to run on far longer than anyone planned.
“I love sports days,” he says. “Getting a group of friends together, playing rounders in the park, doing sack races, egg and spoon races. In the summer, that is my idea of heaven.”
With his nephew, it is even simpler.
“Swings,” he says. “I know it sounds boring, but to him it is a rocket ship. He thinks he is flying. You push him, and he is on the moon. That is my play as well, not just his”.
Why adults should stop overthinking play
The point Sam keeps coming back to is not that adults need to behave like children, but that they need to stop putting so much distance between themselves and the idea of play. “You do not have to play like a young child,” he says. “But if you have a kid or a nephew, just join in their world. If he is going to space, I am the rocket fuel. I am in his world.”
That mindset, he believes, changes more than just the moment itself. “It genuinely makes you more peaceful,” he says. “It calms your mind. If you can release that barrier of ‘I am an adult, and I need to think about everything all the time’, you can have so much fun.”
He also points to the broader importance of play in development, something he has become more aware of through his work.
“I did not realise how important it was until I saw the science behind it,” he says. “We have a responsibility to play with our kids because it is incredibly good for their brain development. We should be doing it, not just for them but for us too.”
An ideal London would be built out of LEGO bricks
Away from the parks and football pitches, Sam’s imagination still drifts back into the city itself, especially after a recent visit to the LEGO store in Piccadilly Circus.
“I was in the LEGO store last week, and they’ve got this amazing city build,” he says. “It’d be a bit like that for me. I’d have water, rivers flowing through the city, clean, fresh rivers, loads of greenery everywhere, futuristic buildings.”
It is a very Sam Thompson version of London. Less grey commuter belt, more living, shifting playground.
“I’ve got a pretty decent idea of what I’d build with my LEGO bricks,” he adds. “It all comes from what you can see in your head. That’s the fun of it.”
Sam Thompson’s World Cup predictions
Before heading back out into the streets of London, off the back of a strong Soccer Aid and the spirit of fun, we asked Sam about the upcoming summer of football and who he thought would take home the trophy.
He didn’t hesitate for long before stating “England.” Sam went on to add, “I wouldn’t normally say it, but I think this could be the time.”
His reasoning is rooted in manager Thomas Tuchel’s approach and what he sees as a more structured, decisive England side.
“I think he has picked a team he believes can win the tournament. There is no space for egos. It is about structure, and I like that.”
- Winner: England (Thanks to Tuchel’s cup management experience)
- Runner-up: Portugal
- Dark horses: Norway
- Player of the tournament: "Hopefully some kind of unknown like a James Rodriguez from 2014"
- Top scorer: Harry Kane. "Maybe Kai Havertz as a rogue choice. Especially after that header against the USA"
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