Boris Johnson talks about cows, quads and kids in Talk TV interview with Nadine Dorries

Boris Johnson has given a glimpse into his life after Downing Street: he reads to his children more, does odd jobs and paints cows.

The former prime minister opened up about how he fills his time in an interview with close ally Nadine Dorries for her new Talk TV show.

Johnson has kept a relatively low profile since leaving No10 last summer, with many MPs still hoping he will make a comeback to the front line.

This week, however, he did a series of interviews while visiting the US, berating Vladimir Putin and urging the UK to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

On the Talk TV appearance – airing tonight at 8pm – Ms Dorries asked him if he could now spend more time with the two small children he shares with his wife Carrie.

On the Talk TV appearance – airing tonight at 8pm – Ms Dorries asked him if he could now spend more time with the two small children he shares with his wife Carrie.

What’s it like being home with the kids? Do they see Daddy more often?’ she said in clips released today.

Mr Johnson replied, ‘They are. Yeah, and it’s great, because you know, I’ve got a very full day…

‘I’m writing a lot. Unless I specifically tell you otherwise, I do things for Uxbridge and do a lot of political work, but yes, it means I can read them… build things. It is awesome.’

Mr. Johnson – who previously spoke of his love for model buses – explained that his DIY activity was to build a garage for a mini-quad.

“I’m building a garage for the quad. Not a big quad, it was a miniature quad. They’re too small for quads,” he said.

Mr. Johnson also said he enjoyed painting more in his spare time. “I have a project to master the shape of the cow,” he said.

During a quick series of questions, Mr. Johnson was pressured into whether he would rather be stuck in an elevator with Keir Starmer or Nicola Sturgeon.

‘Oh brother. Oh actually, it’s like all these things, and I’m sure viewers will understand, both individuals are actually much nicer and funnier than you could otherwise imagine,” he said.

“The kind of animosity you see between politicians on screen often doesn’t show up in real life. I think if it wasn’t about 50 floors I wouldn’t mind either.”

Mr Johnson has urged Britons to ignore ‘gloommakers’ as senior EU players in the Brexit saga weighed in on Brexit three years ago.

The most left-wing claim came from mad former Belgian prime minister and arch-federalist Guy Verhofstadt, who suggested that Brexit was to blame for Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, former EU negotiator Michel Barnier suggested the UK saw “no added value” in leaving. He also praised Keir Starmer as ‘a European’, something the Labor leader may not appreciate as he tries to keep his party happy.

Boris Johnson has praised Brexit for ‘literally saving lives’ as he was interviewed by close ally Nadine Dorries

Speaking to Ms Dorries, Mr Johnson said: ‘Thank God that era is behind us, but one thing people forget – now let’s pray it’s behind us – but one thing people forget, thinking about the vaccine rollout, is that we’re the, I think, the third anniversary of Brexit coming up, or the third anniversary of the day we actually came out of the EU.

“You don’t hear it a lot these days, but it’s definitely the case, if we weren’t able to do our own regulation, if we hadn’t come out of the European Medicines Agency, the MHRA, the medical health regulation agency, was now fully free to decide how quickly the vaccine was approved – we couldn’t have done that vaccine rollout so quickly.

And you know, it’s literally true that Brexit saved lives. And people’s eyes pop out a little when you say that, but it’s true… I’m proud of that. I’m proud of all the work those people have done.’

Mr Johnson also spoke of the ongoing investigation by the Privileges Committee into his Partygate conduct.

He insisted he would be ‘respectful’ to the process, but said anyone who thought he had deliberately covered up lockdown parties in No10 was ‘crazy’.