Never forget that Tom Daley once crocheted a rainbow penis for Gillian Anderson
Tom Daley and Gillian Anderson showing off the beautiful crocheted dick (Instagram/@gilliana)
As the king of both diving and knitting, Tom Daley, is in the news at the moment for his amazing initial performance in the Paris 2024 Olympics, we felt it was a good time to revisit this fun fact about him.
On 29 July, Daley and his diving partner Noah Williams absolutely smashed the men’s synchronised 10m platform final, bringing home a silver medal for TeamGB.
In the crowd, Daley’s husband Dustin Lance Black and his kids Phoenix Rose and Robbie were seen yelling in praise.
And on 27 July, he was also spotted knitting while sitting in the crowd, his favourite way to pass the time while watching all of the Olympics action.
What is he knitting at the Paris 2024 Olympics? Well, we’re not sure yet, but it reminded us that Tom Daley once crocheted a rainbow-coloured penis for Gillian Anderson along with a jumper for her beloved Sex Education character.
Olympic gold medalist diver Daley picked up knitting and crocheting in 2020 – and has since turned his passion into a business, launching his brand Made With Love by Tom Daley in late 2021.
Daley has previously described his hobby as his “saviour”, particularly during lockdown, labelling it a “form of mindfulness in between training and competing”.
In late 2023, he secretly collaborated with Anderson on a colourful piece of knitwear that she wore on set for the final series of the cult Netflix show Sex Education.
“Wanted to say a huge huge thank you to the darling @tomdaley for knitting this fantastic jumper (and crocheted willy) for me to wear for our final season of @sexeducation,” the X-Files star’s Instagram post read.
“Together we raised just over £12k for @mindcharity, which will be divided amongst 8 local Minds who work with LGBTIQA+ communities. Thank you for your stellar knitting skills Tom and for coming to visit me on set!”
The plan first came together in 2021, after Anderson congratulated Daley on his gold medal win at the Tokyo Olympics. She urged him, when he had a “spare few minutes while conquering the world”, to crochet her character Jean Milburn a hat, scarf or honey cup. “Then we’ll auction it off for your favourite LGBTQ charity?” her original Instagram post read.
After that, everything went quiet on socials – but Daley had been knitting away behind the scenes.
Made With Love By Tom Daley even launched a collection with knitwear inspired by a handful of beloved Sex Education characters, including Otis Milburn, Eric Effiong, Maeve Wiley and Aimee Gibbs.
Fans went wild over the news – and comedian Alan Carr even joined in with a few hand-clapping emojis.
“The jumper was perfect for you!” one user wrote, whilst another commented that they “wanted one for their wife”.
“I wanted this so bad I went on an internet search for it!” someone else confessed, having fallen in love with the knit after watching the show. “I’m so glad to know it was one of a kind. I can stop looking now!”
Is he planning to crochet another beautiful, multicoloured dong while watching the Olympics this year? Probably not. But we can live in hope. You can read all of our Paris Olympics 2024 coverage here.
