Amy Winehouse will be a "positive influence" claims dad

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Amy Winehouse's biggest fan seems to be her dad at the moment and he has revealed that he is excited about the prospect of being a grandad in the near future.

In a GMTV interview to promote the new model of Amy at Madame Tussauds, Mitch Winehouse told Kate Garraway: "We're going to take this one home with us and send the real one back.

"I think it's absolutely fantastic, it's stunning - even down to the tattoos."

Despite Amy's drug problems Mitch insists that he is still proud of his little girl: "Nobody – as a family – nobody could be more proud of their child. I mean she's a wonderful kid, she's a great girl, and we're extremely proud of her.

"She's doing OK. You know, she's doing well, she's getting a lot better, she's getting a lot stronger, she's putting on a lot of weight, she's eating, and she's concentrating on her new album now, so she's doing pretty well."

The cab driver admits that his daughter was upset when her husband was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Monday. Blake Fielder-Civil, who pleaded guilty last month to charges of grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice, had begged Judge David Radford to let him walk free so he could help stop Amy taking drugs.

Mitch said: "You know, she's obviously sad that Blake didn't come out the other day, but we were prepared for it and she was prepared for it, because we knew that that could have happened, and it did happen, but now she knows he'll be out in December so things will be ready for him then.

Amy Winehouse wax work (WENN image)

Yesterday Amy revealed in an interview that she wants to have five children. Her cab driver dad was shocked when he found out.

He told Kate Garraway: I'm as speechless as when I saw this statue the first time – it would be great to be Grandparents… I mean obviously if Blake cleans up his act, as I'm sure he will do, they'll have a wonderful life together and we can look forward to being, you know, a happy family.

He understands that people might think Amy shouldn't have a model in Madame Tussauds because of her drug past but he thinks she deserves to be there.

Mitch admits: Well, you know, I understand their point of view. I mean, and I would say that Amy's here for her musical achievements – which have been considerable – and her talent, and hopefully she'll be a major influence on the music industry for the foreseeable future, for many, many years to come.

"And in terms of her being a negative influence on the youngsters of today – it's very difficult as a father…I mean I would hope that as time goes by, she will become a positive influence – in other words – show how these problems can be overcome, can be dealt with, and move forward with her life. So perhaps she can go from – perhaps being somewhat of a negative influence – into being a more positive influence."

Do you love celebrities? Join our Celebrity forum>

Mitch is very proud of the wax work of his daughter (WENN image)