Joe Wicks confirms £1m deal to write children’s books after keeping the nation fit in lockdown
JOE Wicks continues to expand his fitness empire as the ink dries on a £1million book deal.
The fitness guru has become a national darling after running daily PE lessons on YouTube during lockdown, even persevering with a broken hand.
But as the Sun Online reported last month, Joe has signed the seven-figure, multi-book deal with HarperCollins publishers to create specialised adult and children's health books
The 32-year-old, who is already said to be worth £14.5 million, is set to rake in even more cash as he expands his brand with a range of books for kids.
Joe said: “I can’t wait to start developing new adult books with HarperCollins and to create children’s books for the first time. I’m on a mission to get the world fitter, stronger, healthier and happier. Books play a crucial part in that."
The dad-of-two is no stranger to the publishing world after his debut 2015 book - with former publisher Bluebird - Lean in 15 going on to become the second bestselling food & drink title of all time at 1.37 million copies sold.
In total, he has racked up sales of 3.2 million books for for £27.9m and his most recent hit, Wean in 15, went to number one in May, scoring Joe his 18th week at the top of the bestsellers list.
This massive book deal comes after Joe was again offered a multi-million pound deal to help create a health food range with Tesco, after he declined the supermarket giant's original offer in 2018.
An insider said: “Joe almost signed a deal with Tesco to create a range of microwave meals back in 2018. He had numerous meetings with them at the time and even created, sampled and tested a range of products including packaging designs.
“He ended up pulling out because he worried it went too against his ethos of cooking at home. Tesco then negotiated the deal with Jamie Oliver instead.
Joe's star is rising thanks to his online fitness classes The Sun exclusively revealed how Channel 4 had tried to tempt Joe to come on board in a bid to scoop up the ratings from his hit YouTube PE workouts.
He confirmed he’d been approached but during an interview on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday said he’d declined the offer to keep the classes global.
The insider said Joe knows he is becoming more popular but wants to be smart about the decision he makes.
The source added: “Joe is always worried about looking as though he’s cashing in so this is going to take some very clever marketing to persuade him to come on board."
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Joe's book deal is a smart move for publishers who recognise the power of his brand.
An industry source told the : “Publishers know, with the huge success of being the nation’s PE teacher, he’s now a household name and they are desperate to tap him up to release his own range of children’s books in time for Christmas this year.
“He has become a very familiar face with thousands of kids and is to PE what Jamie Oliver was to school dinners. It’s gold to publishers and offers are already at £1million.”
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