TNT football pundit Rio Ferdinand on partnership with McDonald's and BBC Children In Need for Mental Health Awareness Week

“There’s always going to be a bump or a curveball thrown at you, so you’ve just got to be aware that it’s coming, because it’s inevitable. And don’t expect perfection.”

Ferdinand has teamed up with McDonald’s and BBC Children In Need on a campaign to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13-19). It sees the brand’s yellow smiles removed from Happy Meal boxes, to symbolise that it’s OK for children not to feel happy all the time.

Ferdinand, 45 is dad to sons Lorenz, 17, and Tate, 14, and daughter Tia, 12, from his marriage to late wife Rebecca, who died from breast cancer at age 34 in 2015, and also has a three-year-old son Cree and baby daughter Shea with his wife Kate, 32.

The ex-footballer, who played for Leeds United before moving to their rivals over the Pennines, adds: “I think a lot of parents struggle with how to start a conversation – and I was one of those parents before I had help and really got myself into the whys and dos and don’ts around mental health and communicating.”

A survey to accompany the campaign found almost half (48 per cent) of UK children felt like they must be happy all the time, even if they don’t want to be.

“I’m probably falling into that as well sometimes, and we’re doing it with the right intentions,” says Ferdinand. However, he is keen for his children to know they can talk to him about anything whenever they need to, and that it’s OK to be honest about their feelings.

“It’s about making them feel comfortable and making them understand that having sad moments or being emotional, or not feeling as strong as you normally do, is OK. But also, how do you get yourself out of that state as well?”

He’s done a lot to highlight mental wellbeing in recent years – including his Bafta-winning BBC documentary Being Mum And Dad, and 2020 docuseries Tipping Point, which explored racism, homophobia and mental health in football.

It’s something that’s now woven into family life for the Ferdinands.

“I think going out for walks as a family is really good, because you end up talking. Some people find it hard to talk sitting down across the table, it’s a bit too formal. But going out for a walk, they can get a lot off their chest,” says Ferdinand, who also values family mealtimes as an opportunity to talk.

“It doesn’t have to be one of those dig-in, prying conversations – it’s just talking about general stuff, and one of the kids at some point might open up about something, but you’ve given them the platform to do that.”