“I’d just found out I’d got in the band. It was such a big deal for me, moving into London in this house with these other guys. The week before I left, my dad left. There was a note on the kitchen table just saying he’d had enough. I can’t really explain how I felt. I thought he was a coward and he’d cheated us. I felt like my childhood had just gone and I was in complete shock. The best thing for me was getting away. Partly because I needed to, and partly because I was the only man in the house with a mum and a younger sister. It was my duty to get myself into a position where I could look after them. As for my dad, I’ve never seen him since. The big thing for me is that it made me want to be a better man. I was 15 then, just a kid. The guys in my band became my male role models. Harry taught me to shave, Tom took me down and opened my first bank account with me, showed me how to use a cashpoint card. They’ll always be the ones who I’ll turn to.” - Dougie Poynter for Daily mail
